You Were Meant To Be Mine
by TaleBearer
Summary: When Gojyo wins a slave girl named Layla in his latest poker game, none of the Sanzo Ikkou can foresee how much her karma is intertwined with theirs. The men of Saiyuki all belong to Kazuya Minekura. No copyright infringement intended. Please review!
1. Chapter 1 Fateful Meeting

CHAPTER ONE Fateful Meeting

Sanzo sat in the inn's common room, reading the newspaper and drinking tea. It was the lazy time of day between the end of the lunch hour and the approach of early diners, people looking for games of cards or mah jong, and the heavy drinkers. The common room was mostly empty, which suited Sanzo perfectly. He needed all the peace and quiet he could get. Gojyo and Hakkai had taken Goku off to the marketplace to pick up supplies and find whatever passed for entertainment in this town. Sanzo sighed, took a long sip of tea, then turned the page. He was engrossed in an article about a trend among younger Buddhist monks who were lobbying for permission to smoke pipes or cigarettes. They accepted the need to restrict the privilege to certain times and limited amounts, but they were adamant about the importance of being allowed to indulge.

"Tch!" Sanzo snorted, thinking of Jikaku-sama and his own master. "Let 'em earn it!"

He was in the middle of lighting up his own cigarette when the sudden outburst of Gojyo's laughter outside made him fumble the lighter and drop it with a curse. Back so soon? Damn damn damn.

Goku came galloping in, golden eyes wide and both hands full of small things wrapped in twists of brightly colored paper.

"Sanzo! Sanzo! Look!" Goku dumped a handful of the little things in front of Sanzo. To judge from the lump in Goku's cheek, they were probably sweets of some kind. "Gojyo won really big playing cards and he gave me money to go buy these! Isn't that great?"

Sanzo frowned. Gojyo was notoriously generous with his winnings, but he must have really hit a jackpot to give some to Goku. Sanzo looked past Goku to Hakkai, who took his seat at the table smiling what looked to be a genuine smile. Hakuryuu sat on his shoulder, flinching a little at all the noise Goku kept making as he raced around chattering about all the things they'd seen in the marketplace. Sanzo was listening with only half an ear, but one phrase grabbed his attention.

"Goku, wait. What was that about people?"

Goku chattered on, oblivious.

"Goku!"

Still no reply. On Goku's next circuit of the room, Sanzo waited until the boy was within arm's reach. The paper fan flashed out, whacking Goku across the head three times in sharp succession. Goku skidded to a halt, holding his head.

"Hey! What'd I do? I didn't do anything!"

"Shut up, baka saru!" Sanzo snapped. "Tell me about the place where you saw the people being sold."

"Oh. That. I didn't see it, because Hakkai said we shouldn't go there, but I figure that must be where Layla came from."

"Who's Layla?"

"Gojyo's friend."

Sanzo turned a cold look on Hakkai. "What does the slave market have to do with Gojyo's 'friend'?"

Just then Gojyo himself walked it, smiling and jaunty in his usual white shirt, blue vest, and khaki pants. He had his arm slung round the shoulders of a girl who looked to be no more than eighteen. She had long dark hair plaited into a braid that hung down to her waist, fair skin, full lips, and a figure that looked generous beneath the plain green dress she wore. She kept her head down and her hands clasped in front of her. Gojyo was talking to her, his tone quieter and his gestures more restrained than usual. Now and then the girl replied with a nod and a brief smile. She looked to be a cut above the usual sort of trollop Gojyo amused himself with. For some reason that triggered Sanzo's internal alarm.

"Layla," Gojyo said, sweeping his arm toward Sanzo. "This is--"

The girl looked at Sanzo. For a moment she just stared at him, then her eyes widened in shock. She dropped to her knees, bowing her head. "Forgive me, Sanzo-sama, for disturbing you like this! I didn't know you yourself were here!"

Sanzo took off his reading glasses and looked down at the girl. No, his eyes hadn't been playing tricks. She was indeed trembling before him. He hadn't inspired this kind of reaction in anybody in a long time. And never in a girl so lovely and refined.

"Do you know me, girl?"

"No, Sanzo-sama. That is, I have never had the privilege of meeting you in person before. But anyone would know you!"

"What do you mean?"

"Hair that shines like sunlight, eyes the color of the finest wine, and the wrath of Heaven borne like a fire in the depths of your spirit..." She risked a timid glance up at him. "That could be only you, Sanzo-sama."

Sanzo didn't know what to make of all that. It was flattering, and that alone made him even more suspicious. The girl could be another undercover agent just like Yaone had been disguised as a waitress. Sanzo put his reading glasses back on and glared at Gojyo over the rims. "Since when do you bother to introduce your little playmates to me?"

"No, no," Gojyo said. "It's not like that!"

"Like hell. Don't even think about holding your latest orgy in a room the temple's paying for."

"Would you just shut up and listen for a minute? I won Layla in a card game!"

Sanzo's alarm blared even louder. "You did what?"

"One of the guys in the game bought her at the slave market. He told us the price he paid for her, then used that as his stake. He lost, and I won, so now she's mine."

"No." Sanzo took off his glasses, tucked them into their case, put them away inside his sleeve, and stood up. "In case you've forgotten, you pathetic erokappa, we're on a mission here. We leave tomorrow morning after breakfast. Hakuryuu only seats four. She's not coming with us!"

"Please, Gojyo!" Layla clung to his hand, looking like she might burst into tears. "Please don't anger Sanzo-sama any further!"

"Hey now." Gojyo knelt beside Layla and put his arms around her. "Don't let this noise bother you. We yell at each other all the time. It doesn't mean anything."

Layla leaned against his shoulder, then turned a sorrowful look on Sanzo. Now that he could get a closer look at her, Sanzo was struck by how pretty Layla really was. Her eyes were the blue-green of a quiet sea.

"I'm so sorry, Sanzo-sama." Her voice was low and rich, with the cultured tones of the educated. "A holy man like you should not have to suffer the presence of one like me. Gojyo only wanted to help me get away from the men who sold me in the first place."

Gojyo nodded. "I was thinking we could take her with us to the next town. That should be far enough away to keep the punks who sold her from finding her again."

That did make sense. Sanzo was relieved to know that Gojyo had no intention of keeping Layla.

"Hakkai," Sanzo said. "How far is the next town?"

"Four days," Hakkai replied.

"Tell me where she's supposed to sit, when the jeep only has four seats."

"That's easy," Gojyo said. "She can ride on my lap."

Layla flinched and ducked her head, but she couldn't hide the blush staining her cheeks.

"Four days also means camping out," Sanzo said. "Where is she going to sleep?"

"With me." Gojyo smiled that lazy, confident smile that made Sanzo want to shoot him.

Layla kept her head down so Sanzo couldn't read her expression. He could see her hands fisted in the cloth of her skirt, her grip tight enough to whiten her knuckles. The sight of that made Sanzo oddly pleased. Layla didn't want Gojyo. She was just putting up with him to escape slavery.

"You filthy youkai bastard." Sanzo shook his head. "The girl is dependent on your kindness and protection and all you can think about is bedding her the first chance you get!"

Gojyo straightened up to his full height, then stepped close to Sanzo, forcing the monk to look up at him.

"If that was true," Gojyo growled, "I could have just taken her straight up to my room. Instead, Hakkai and I took the time to make sure Layla got a bath and some new clothes before we presented her to you, Your Holiness." He shook his head, scowling. "That's the last time I try to be

civilized for your sake, you prick!"

Hakkai cleared his throat. "Perhaps we can continue this later. I'm sure a nice relaxing lunch will help put matters into perspective."

Layla eased up onto her feet. She clung to Gojyo's arm, but she raised her head and looked Sanzo in the eye. Something in those sea-blue eyes spoke to him. He couldn't name it, and that in itself made him want to chase it, to dive down into those eyes and meet what it was that called to him. Sanzo blew out his breath. Something was going on here, something that would probably turn out to mean more trouble, more delays, more side trips and even more reasons to shoot Gojyo.

"I swear. You two are suckers for every sob story we've heard between here and Chang'An."

Gojyo grinned. "So she goes with us?"

"All it means, baka, is that I'm already tired of arguing about it. Now that we're all here, let's get some lunch."

They arranged themselves around the table. Layla stood behind Gojyo's chair. Hakkai looked around.

"Hm. Doesn't seem to be much in the way of servers, does there?"

Layla spoke up. "Please, Sanzo-sama, if you will permit, I can tell the kitchen what you'd like to eat. I have some experience serving at table."

Sanzo stared at her. He wasn't used to being addressed with such respect. It was a pleasant change. He gave her a curt nod.

"Ask them what they're serving today," Goku said. "I want some of everything!"

Layla hurried off toward the door that led back to the kitchen. Gojyo watched her, grinning like the fiend that he was.

"Is she a knockout, or what?" He fired up his latest cigarette and blew smoke rings at the ceiling. "I tell you, they sold her cheap."

"Baka!" Sanzo snapped. "The only price structure you understand is by the hour or all night!"

Gojyo gave him a pitying glance. "Do you really think I've ever had to pay for it?" He took a long drag on his cigarette. "That's for losers," he blew the smoke out at Sanzo, "and ugly, going-bald monks."

The fan appeared in Sanzo's hand. Before he could raise it, Layla came hurrying back. She stopped a respectful distance from Sanzo and bowed.

"If you please, Sanzo-sama, the cook said he's got river fish, mutton, venison, and beef. He can cook it up as stew or steaks or whatever you like."

Goku bounced up and down in his seat. "I want fish and spring rolls and beef teriyaki and those glass noodles and lots of rice and--"

"Hush!" Sanzo commanded. He turned to Layla. "Tell him fast, simple, and plenty of it."

"What will you have to drink, Sanzo-sama?"

"Beer," Gojyo said. "And plenty of that, too!"

Sanzo nodded. "Tea for Hakkai. And Goku."

"Aw, Sanzo, why don't you ever let me drink beer like you guys do?"

"Because you're enough trouble sober. Kami-sama forbid I should ever have to cope with you drunk."

Layla disappeared into the kitchen again. Within minutes she came back out again, carrying a tray laden with two cans of Asahi beer and a teapot with a stack of cups. She served out the drinks, moving around the table in a circle that let her head straight back into the kitchen once she was done. Before she could dash off again, Gojyo caught her by the skirt and pulled her back to him.

"I wish we got service this good everywhere we go." He took her hand and brushed a kiss across her knuckles.

Layla's full lips curved in a genuine smile. She pulled her hand out of Gojyo's grasp, then ran it lightly over his crimson hair.

"The food will be ready soon," she said.

And so it was. The cook himself helped Layla bring out all the trays with the plates of food giving off aromatic steam. When the feast was arranged to everyone's satisfaction, Layla bowed to Sanzo.

"If you need anything, Sanzo-sama, please just call my name." She hurried away again.

"Layla!" Gojyo called. "Where are you going?"

"To the kitchen," she replied.

"Don't be silly. Come eat with us."

Layla blushed again, shaking her head. "Thank you, Gojyo, but that wouldn't be right."

"Why not?"

"Sanzo-sama is a holy man, and you are his companions. It's not right for a woman to sit at your table."

Gojyo looked at Sanzo. "Do you have a problem with Layla eating with us?"

Sanzo thought it over. As much as he really didn't want to watch Gojyo snuggle up to her while he was trying to eat, something about Layla was beginning to rouse certain feelings of pity in Sanzo.

"Layla."

"Yes, Sanzo-sama?"

"Take a seat beside Gojyo. Fate has made him your master now, so do as he says." Sanzo shot a scathing look at Gojyo. "Within reason, of course."

"As you wish, Sanzo-sama." Layla stayed where she was, prompting Sanzo to look at her. She regarded him with those haunting eyes. "Thank you, Sanzo-sama. You're very kind."

Gojyo laughed. "Yeah, he's a real prince." He fetched a chair from another table and parked it between his own chair and Hakkai's. "Come on, there's enough food for an army here." He cast a sour glance at Goku, who was already piling up empty plates at his usual astonishing rate. "And we're going to need it!"

For a quarter of an hour there wasn't much talk, just the sound of chopsticks clattering as the food was moved from serving platters to personal settings to mouths. Gojyo chose the bits and pieces he considered tastiest and set them before Layla. Sanzo observed this from under lowered eyelashes. Gojyo was always at his charming best in front of anything female and attractive, but instead of trying to coax Layla into the nearest bed, Gojyo seemed more interested in just taking care of her. Sanzo could see Hakkai had noticed the same thing. Instead of his usual smile, Hakkai wore a look of profound weariness. Sanzo wondered if the sight of Gojyo playing with his new toy pained Hakkai. Sanzo tried to ignore any hint of Hakkai and Gojyo being more than just roommates, but the sight of Hakkai showing his true feelings for once startled Sanzo into paying closer attention.

As before, Layla answered Gojyo's jokes with a nod and a shy smile. She ate in small bites, setting her chopsticks down between and then drinking tea from her cup with dainty grace. The more he saw of her, the more Sanzo thought the girl must come from good family. He studied her, musing on the possibilities. As if she felt his gaze on her, Layla looked straight at him and arched one slim dark brow.

"Layla." The stern tone of Sanzo's voice made Gojyo and Hakkai look at him. Goku just kept plowing through his food with his usual messy enthusiasm. "How did a girl with the table manners of a Lady end up in a slave market out here in the middle of nowhere?"

Layla turned pale and set her chopsticks aside with unnecessary precision. "It's not a pleasant story, Sanzo-sama. I wouldn't wish to disturb your meal with my sorrows."

"I haven't eaten a single meal in peace since I started traveling with these idiots." Sanzo drank a long swallow of beer, crushed the empty can in his fist and let it fall. "Tell me your story. If there's any trouble following you, I'll need to know what it might be."

Layla bowed her head in submission.

"One of my uncles died recently, leaving his estate to my father. We came to attend the funeral and to take possession of the estate." She took a deep, steadying breath, then spoke in a tone carefully empty of all emotion. "Our train of carriages was a week's journey from my uncle's lands when we were attacked by a large group of bandits. The guards and servants fought bravely, but they couldn't kill enough of the enemy fast enough to halt the inevitable."

"Bastards," Gojyo growled. "I wonder where we were when this was happening."

Sanzo stared at Layla, his purple eyes narrowing. "How did you manage to survive?"

"I convinced the bandits' leader that we were on the way to my wedding. My groom's family would pay handsomely for my safe return, but only as long as I was unharmed and, um--" She blushed a painful shade of red.

"Inviolate?" Hakkai suggested.

"Yes. Thank you, Hakkai."

"But that must not have worked," Sanzo said. "Or did your own relatives sell you into slavery?"

Layla's neutral expression sharpened to a glare. "No, Sanzo-sama, they did not. I never saw my family, except those whose bodies I had to leave behind unburied and unmourned."

"Hey, Sanzo." Gojyo put his arm around Layla's shoulders. "Back off, man. She's had it hard enough without you getting in her face."

Layla rested her head on Gojyo's shoulder, but her glare stayed just as fierce.

"I'm still waiting to hear how she ended up at the slave market." Sanzo looked into those sea-blue eyes and arched his own eyebrow. "Well?"

"The bandits kept arguing about how they were going to spend the ransom money until somebody had a bad attack of greed and the fighting broke out." Layla pushed back from the table and walked over to the nearest window. She leaned her head on the frame, one hand pressed to her mouth. "The survivors decided it was suicide to try to ransom me when they could make a quicker and safer profit at the slave market." She turned and looked Sanzo in the eye, making it somehow defiant. "Especially when the whorehouses would pay extra for a girl who had absolutely no experience."

Sanzo sat back and lit a cigarette. That explained why Gojyo wasn't putting his usual moves on Layla. Gojyo was stupid enough to believe such a story without any hard evidence to back it up. Whoever Layla really was, she was more than bright enough to make up a convincing story. As much as Sanzo detested Gojyo's and Goku's habit of picking up strays, at least this one knew how to behave herself properly in his presence. It might make the next four days a little less tedious to have a servant to wait on him. He got so damned tired of looking at the same three faces day after day, not counting Hakuryuu. If nothing else, Layla did improve the scenery.

"Gojyo."

"What?"

"She's your problem. Feed her, keep her clean, get her whatever she needs, and keep your hands off of her, at least in terms of using the temple's money to gratify your perverted appetites."

Gojyo scowled. His mouth opened, but Layla's hand on his shoulder stopped him. She moved around the table until she stood off to Sanzo's right side, then sank down onto her knees.

"Thank you, Sanzo-sama. You and Gojyo and Hakkai and Goku are the first people to show me any kindness here."

She bowed down until her forehead touched the ground. Gojyo's chair scraped back. He hurried around the table and bent to lift Layla back up onto her feet.

"Hey, hey, there's no need for that." He flashed a scornful look at Sanzo. "Keep that up and His Holiness will start expecting all of us to bow that low."

"You could learn a few things from Layla's good manners." Sanzo sipped from his cup of tea and made a face. "The tea's gone cold and we're out of beer."

Taking the hint, Layla rushed off toward the kitchen and returned with a steaming pot of tea and two fresh cans of Asahi. Sanzo cracked open his can and took a long drink.

"Can you cook?"

"A bit, Sanzo-sama. What did you have in mind?"

"Something like stew, cooked over an open fire while we're camping out between here and the next town."

"I'm sure I can come up with something palatable."

"Good. Go over the supply list with Hakkai and have him get you anything else you think you might need."

"Yes, Sanzo-sama."

"Hey!" Gojyo looked put out. "I thought you said I was supposed to take care of Layla."

Sanzo sighed. "You are, baka. Hakkai is a much better cook than you'll ever be, so when it comes to the food supplies, Layla should talk to him."

"Oh."

Layla wrapped her arms around Gojyo's waist and hugged him. "You're my hero, Gojyo, and you always will be."

Gojyo draped one long arm around her shoulders, beaming.


	2. Chapter 2 Sleepless Night

CHAPTER TWO Sleepless Night

Layla stood by the room's one small window, looking out at the cold, clear night sky. She'd unlatched the wooden shutter and swung it back. The breeze blowing in brought the clean scents of the nearby river and the forest. Here she was, bathed, fed, even dressed in a fresh nightgown of cotton dyed a pale blue with little buttons like small silver roses. The room was too small for three people and a little white dragon, but it was paradise compared to the big wooden crate the slavers had kept her locked up inside. With only some filthy straw on the floor and a hole cut in the corner plank whose purpose was more than obvious, the crate was its own taste of hell. She couldn't stand up, she couldn't stretch her legs out when she sat down, and she was constantly bumped and jolted as the slavers' wagons bounced and rattled along the trails. She should be grateful to Gojyo for her current much improved location, and she was, but she couldn't help keeping her guard up. Too much had happened in too short a time for her to feel comfortable around anything male, to say nothing of a man who bore all the signs of being a Child of Taboo.

Half demon, half human. That meant one of his parents had been a normal human being, while the other had been pure demon, one of those insane slavering monsters who were ripping human beings apart then eating what was left. Part of Layla's mind rejected that thought as too extreme, a caricature of the way events had unfolded once the demons started to go insane and kill humans. There had to be some basis for the legends about a Child of Taboo. Some of the male demons Layla had seen were actually quite stunning, with the strange colors of their hair and eyes. Easy to see why the right kind of human female might fall under the spell of such strange and dangerous beauty.

The key word was still 'dangerous.' Demons were going insane all over Shangri-La, turning on humans, killing them, eating them, leaving horror and carnage everywhere. That was the only small mercy in what had happened to Layla and her family. The bandits had been purely human. While they had been monsters in their own right, at least they lacked the inhuman claws, fangs, speed and strength of the demons.

So how could Layla possibly let her guard down around Gojyo, who had enough demon blood in him to make him vulnerable to whatever was driving the demons of Shangri-La insane? He looked so much like a lost puppy, and he was so pathetically grateful for any signs of affection. If only his hair and his eyes could have been any color other than red. Color of pain, color of blood. Poor Gojyo. Not his fault. Not his doing. Maybe she could talk him into dying his hair black. That wouldn't hide his eyes, but it would protect him against some of the instant recognition and loathing...

Gojyo turned over, one long arm flopping across the empty side of the bed. While Layla watched, his arm slid around, his hand patting the pillow. He jerked upright, raking his long hair out of his eyes, letting Layla see how wide open they were.

"Shhhh, Gojyo," she whispered. "I'm right here."

Hakkai slept on in the other bed with Hakuryuu curled up on Hakkai's jacket where he'd spread it out beside the head of the bed. Gojyo slipped out of bed and padded barefoot across the room to where Layla stood. Gojyo wrapped both arms around Layla's slim waist and cuddled her against his chest, rubbing his cheek against the silky softness of her hair.

"Bad dreams?" he whispered.

She nodded.

"Come back to bed."

Layla winced. There was no doubt in her mind what Gojyo planned to do to take her mind off her sorrows. He was not what she wanted. Not what she needed. Gojyo was fire and lightning, heat and fury and a thrilling ride on a wild horse straight for the edge of the cliff. Sanzo was moonlight and dawn, peace and discipline and cool, clear water in a quiet mountain stream. Sanzo. She wanted to be with him, wherever he was. Right then he was asleep in his own bed in the next room, not the most appropriate place for her to be near him, but better by far than the bed in which she now found herself.

Gojyo stroked Layla's hair back from her cheek, letting his fingertips trail down the side of her neck. She knew he meant it to be soothing, but it just irritated her.

"Want to talk about it?"

Layla moved her head side to side on the pillow.

"I know how hard it is to lose family." Gojyo sat up and reached for his cigarettes and lighter. The brief spark of the flame lit up his crimson eyes.

Seeing the reflection of the flame dancing in his strange eyes forced Layla to focus on his half-demon nature. No matter how sweet he tried to be, she couldn't help thinking of him as a creature whose existence the gods had expressly forbidden.

"My stepmother hated me." Gojyo took a long drag and blew two long, thin plumes of smoke out through his nostrils. "She saw me as living proof of the time my father cheated on her. One day she just couldn't stand looking at me anymore, and she tried to kill me."

Layla turned to him, eyes wide with horror. Her hand rose, but she jerked it back before her fingers could touch the scars on his face.

"These?" Gojyo tapped the scars. "Nah. These are from another time when she was just mad at me."

"Gojyo..."

He shrugged, then went on smoking in silence for a while. "On the day she came after me with the axe, I knew she meant it that time. I was just a kid, not that tall and not that strong yet, not that I would have hurt her. She hated me, but she was still the only mother I had."

"You don't have to tell me this."

"Maybe I do." Gojyo crushed out the cigarette and slid down beside Layla again. "I decided the only way I could help her was to let her kill me. Then she'd stop crying so much. Then she could forget about all of it, maybe be happy again. I really wanted her to be happy."

"Where was your father? Why didn't he help you?"

Gojyo snorted. "Who knows. The only one who ever helped me was my older brother. He was full demon, all hers, and she never passed up a chance to show me he was her favorite."

"What a horrible woman."

"She was just messed up in the head, like so many people are."

"You're a very forgiving man, Gojyo."

"Not really, but if anybody needed mercy, it was my stepmother."

"What happened?"

"She cornered me, lifted up that axe, and I just closed my eyes. Fine, I thought. Do it. Put us both out of our misery. But the axe never came down."

"Why not?"

"When I opened my eyes again, she was lying on the floor, face down. Behind her my older brother stood there holding a sword."

"Oh no. You don't mean-- He didn't--"

"He did. He killed her to save me. Then he dropped the sword and ran for it." Gojyo closed those crimson eyes and let his head fall back on the pillow. "So yeah, I know what it's like to lose family. One minute you're all together, whether you're happy or not, and the next minute, it's just you. Everybody else has gone somewhere else, and you're just standing there all by yourself."

"How horrible for you! Just a child..." Layla turned over on her side toward him, resting her hand on his chest. "It's true. One day life is the way it's always been, and the next, everything is different. Totally, horribly, eternally different."

Her breath hitched. The tears, never far below the surface, rose again, flooding her eyes and making her hide her face against Gojyo's chest.

"You hold me and I'll hold you," he said. "Deal?"

"Deal."

With her arms around his neck and his arms around her waist they held each other. The heat from Gojyo's body made the anxiety and tension slowly drain from Layla's muscles. She relaxed against him, her curves fitting into the hard angles of his body. Her eyelids grew heavy and she was almost ready to doze off again when Gojyo shifted his weight against her. Sudden awareness of him flooded her senses. The way his lips brushed her neck. His long silky hair spilling down the neckline of her nightgown. One long leg thrown over hers. The rigid length prodding her in the belly proved his thoughts had wandered back to more entertaining pursuits.

"Layla?" Gojyo breathed against her neck.

"Hm?"

"Will you let me help you feel better?"

"Gojyo, we've talked about this."

"Yeah, but not while we've been lying here this close in the same bed."

"Gojyo, please."

"Layla, honey, I'm an excellent lover. Wouldn't you rather have an expert help you with your first time?"

"You selfish, arrogant--" Layla set her hands against his shoulders and tried to push him away. "If I could get my arm into the right position, I'd slap you into next week!"

"Sh! You'll wake up Hakkai!"

"Maybe I should wake him up. Maybe I should start screaming for help!"

"Fine." Gojyo opened his arms and turned over onto his back. "There. You're free."

"Thank you." Layla rolled over and put her back to him, scooting as close to the far edge of the mattress as she could get without falling off.

"I just want to make you happy." Gojyo sighed. "You're so pretty, and kind, and brave, and life has just been so shitty to you. I just want to do for you the one thing I do really well, the one way I know I could make you happy."

Layla could tell Gojyo's frustration went deeper than just his physical need. He wanted to solve her problem, to save her from the living hell her life had now become.

"Gojyo."

"What?"

"If I let you kiss me goodnight, will you please settle down so both of us can get some sleep?"

"What do you mean by goodnight kiss? You'd better tell me, so I don't guess wrong."

His peevish tone made her smile. She leaned on one elbow above him, then bent forward so her long hair fell down over her shoulder and spilled across his bare chest.

"Why don't you give me your idea of a goodnight kiss? Then you can leave me to torture myself with getting just a taste of what I will then know I'm missing."

"OK. I can live with that."

Layla almost laughed. She'd known her offer would appeal to Gojyo's vanity, which had been stung by her refusals. Sweeping her long hair up out of the way, she lay back on her pillow and looked over at him expectantly. Now it was Gojyo's turn to lean over her.

"Ask me," he said.

"What?"

"I just want to hear you say it."

"Please, Gojyo. Kiss me."

His long fingers touched her throat, curling around her neck in a loose grip, stroking her skin before tipping her chin up. His lips brushed across hers, feather-light, once, twice, three times. Then he sank down into her mouth, his tongue parting her lips, the heat and wetness and sudden intense contact making her arch up off the bed against him. The fingers on her throat glided downward, trailing across her breasts and down to her waist, slipping around behind her, under the arch of her spine. His arm around her held her even tighter against him and supported her when she began to weaken from the heat of his kiss. Layla's hands slid up his arms, around his shoulders, her fingers tangling themselves in the wealth of his long hair. As her virgin senses were overwhelmed by the sheer erotic power Gojyo unleashed with just one kiss, Layla moaned into his mouth.

Gojyo made a noise deep in his chest, part growl, part groan. He swung his leg across hers then centered his weight over her, pressing her into the mattress. Pinned under him, Layla panicked. She beat at his shoulders with her fists, then just managed to tear her mouth from his.

"Stop it! Stop it!"

"Hush now, honey. I won't hurt you, you know that."

"I'm going to hurt you if you don't move!"

Layla gave his hair a hard yank. With a sudden yelp Gojyo rolled sideways, almost off the other side of the bed. Layla sprang up and ran for the door. She wrenched it open, stumbled out into the dim light in the hallway, then slammed it behind her.

Gojyo eased himself back into a more comfortable position, then fired up a cigarette and lay there smoking and feeling sorry for himself.

"That was smooth," said the voice from the other bed.

"Don't you start."

"Now you've scared her, upset her, and betrayed her trust. Was one kiss worth all that?"

"You heard her. She asked me to kiss her."

"You should have refused."

"Me? Why?"

"She was playing with fire, and she had no idea just how hot it could get. You did, so you should have refused."

"Great. So I'm twice as big a bastard, is that it?"

"Looks that way to me."

"Shut up, Hakkai." Gojyo snatched up Layla's abandoned pillow and flung it at the shadowy form on the other bed. "Just shut up and go back to sleep."

"Now that the floor show is over, maybe I can."

"You know, if you're having trouble sleeping, I can fix that."

The temperature in the room suddenly dropped a good ten degrees.

"That's very thoughtful of you, Gojyo." Hakkai's voice was cold, dripping icicles like daggers. "I'd be more inclined to accept your offer if I didn't think you're just looking for help with working off a hard-on you got from somebody else."

"Jealous, Hakkai?"

"Disappointed, Gojyo. It's a sad day when you prove Sanzo right about you."

Gojyo blew out out another cloud of smoke. He wondered how many cigarettes it would take to block out the sight of Hakkai's back turned to him.


	3. Chapter 3 Seeking Shelter

CHAPTER THREE Seeking Shelter

Not knowing where else to go, Layla wandered downstairs to the main hall. The stone floor was cold under her bare feet. She hugged herself, shivering. A draft from the front door blew the scent of cigarette smoke to her, a finer brand than Gojyo's. Layla followed it until the shadows around the table in one corner showed her the gleam of golden hair.

"You're up late, Sanzo-sama."

"I've been waiting."

"For what?"

"You."

"Me? But why--"

"Gojyo can't resist temptation any more than Goku can resist food. You'd have been safer in bed with Hakkai. Even if I put my gun to his head, he wouldn't have touched you."

"Gojyo was trying to be kind."

"He was trying to seduce you because he can't relate to a woman any other way."

Layla felt compelled to defend Gojyo in the face of Sanzo's merciless hostility. "He told me about his family."

"The stepmother who hated him and the big brother who killed her?"

"Yes."

"Why did he inflict that on you?"

"Sympathy. One day you have a family, then horrible things happen and you're left all alone."

"I doubt your family was quite as twisted as Gojyo's."

"All families have their secrets."

"Not all families have homicidal mothers trying to murder the halfbreed child. It's also rare to find the pureblood child willing to kill to protect the halfbreed." Sanzo took a drag on his cigarette. The glowing ember lit up his stony expression. "Did Gojyo mention the part about how his older brother would distract his mother from trying to kill Gojyo by letting her drag him off to the bedroom?"

"Oh." Layla shook her head hard, trying to throw that thought out of her mind. "No. Thank you so much for clarifying that, Sanzo-sama."

Her sarcasm had no effect other than making Sanzo look her in the eye.

"Every time a woman refuses Gojyo," he said, "it takes him straight back to his stepmother refusing to love him. That makes him crazy and stupid. Until he finally gets over it, it will continue to control him and poison his relationships with women."

"So what he really wants is to be loved, but as a child, he got that all mixed up with—the other." She smiled sadly. "Now I understand. He thought he could help me, could do something really good for me, by-- By--"

"By what? Making you suffer his misguided and misplaced lust?"

"Why are you so unkind to Gojyo?" Layla cried. "He just wanted to help me feel better, to make love to me in a way that would make the first time easier on me. It's his one great talent, or so he believes, and he just wanted to make me happy." By the time she finished speaking, her cheeks were streaked with tears. "Was that so wrong, Sanzo-sama? Was that so deserving of this icy contempt?"

Sanzo said nothing. He looked away, up at the rafters above them, then down at his hands where they toyed with his lighter.

"It's late," he said. "Let's go get some sleep."

Layla nodded. "Perhaps I can sleep in the kitchen, near the hearth."

Sanzo stood up. "Don't be stupid." He put his hand on her waist and guided her back toward the stairs. "You'll sleep in my room, on the far side, with Goku between us."

"Are you sure, Sanzo-sama? The scandal--"

"Look at me. I smoke, I drink, I gamble, and I carry a pistol. Do I look like I give a shit about what the local peasants think?"

Up in Sanzo's room, he pulled a pillow and a blanket off Goku's bed and handed them to Layla. "There. He never stays in one place anyway."

"I can't help but wonder..."

"What?"

"There's something about Goku. What is he?"

"He's a pain in the ass. Now kindly go to sleep before I change my mind and throw you back to Gojyo."

"Yes, Sanzo-sama. Thank you."

Layla curled up on the floor on the far side of Goku's bed, huddled beneath her blanket with her hands tucked under her pillow. She'd ended up with Sanzo after all. He knew Gojyo well enough to know what would happen sooner or later, so he'd waited up for her. Such a confusing man. So harsh, and yet so caring...


	4. Chapter 4 Hidden Wisdom

CHAPTER FOUR Hidden Wisdom

The next morning Sanzo sat at the same table in the common room, reading more of the same newspaper. At the moment it was most useful as a temporary wall, granting him some vestige of privacy and blocking the unappetizing view of Goku plowing through another small mountain of food.

Upstairs, heavy footsteps thundered back and forth. Doors slammed. Gojyo's voice broke into hoarse shouts.

"Layla? Layla! Dammit, where are you?"

Sanzo looked up from the paper as Gojyo came barreling downstairs, skidding to a halt by their table.

"Have you seen Layla?"

"Lost track of your winnings already?" Sanzo asked. "Typical."

"Go shove it up your tight ass, Sanzo." Gojyo turned to Goku. "Have you seen her?"

Goku finally swallowed the last bit of the enormous mouthful he'd been chewing. "Didn't Hakkai say--"

Sanzo's fan flashed out, for once high enough to do nothing more than make Goku duck.

"Shut up and eat."

"But Hakkai said he--"

This time the fan caught Goku across the ear, making him howl with pain and outrage.

"Shut up, I said!" Sanzo raised the newspaper wall again.

Gojyo dropped into a vacant chair, set his elbows on the table, then let his head fall into his hands. He let out a mournful sigh. "Layla's gone."

"Gone?" Sanzo asked.

"Gone. When I woke up this morning, I couldn't find her anywhere."

Goku's mouth opened. He flinched, then glared at Sanzo, who had kicked him under the table.

"Consider it a blessing," Sanzo said. "Now we can get on the road with no further excess baggage."

"You cold-blooded bastard!" Gojyo snarled. "Those slavers would love to catch her again. She could be alone out there, in serious trouble!"

"She was in trouble, you stupid fucking half-breed. That's probably why she ran away."

Gojyo stared at him. Confusion changed to suspicion, then to certainty. "You know what happened last night, don't you? Because she told you! Tell me, dammit! Tell me what she said!"

Goku looked on, golden eyes wide, chewing away at another huge mouthful. Sanzo just turned another page of his newspaper. Gojyo shot up out of his chair so fast it skidded backward and toppled over. His fist came crashing down through the middle of the newspaper, flattening it into a crumpled mass.

"Tell me!"

Sanzo's hand was already inside his sleeve, closing around his gun, when he glanced past Gojyo to the inn's doorway. "Why don't you ask her yourself?"

Layla had just stepped through the doorway, her arms full of shopping bags. Behind her came Hakkai carrying another load.

"Layla!" Gojyo flung himself at her.

Layla dodged between two tables, forcing Gojyo to slow down as he wove his way through the obstacle course.

"Gojyo, slow down!" Layla cried. "What on earth has gotten into you?"

"Where the hell have you been?" Gojyo cornered Layla against the wall beside the bar. "For all I knew, the slavers grabbed you again!"

Layla looked from Gojyo to Sanzo and back again. "But – Hakkai told Sanzo we needed to go back to the market for a few more supplies."

Gojyo shot a glare of pure crimson fury over his shoulder at Sanzo. He patted Layla's shoulder. "Wait here a minute, would you? I'll be right back."

Gojyo streaked across the space between him and Sanzo, his long hair a crimson blur. Goku dove aside. Hakkai shouted a warning. A sudden loud metallic click froze Gojyo in his tracks. Sanzo was on his feet, his pistol held out at arm's length, the muzzle an inch or two from Gojyo's nose.

"You bastard," Gojyo hissed. "You evil, twisted, corrupt -- You knew! And you let me think she'd run away!"

"Moron." Sanzo shook his head. "You will never learn the importance of non-attachment."

"Fuck that noise!" Gojyo snapped. "I'm going to attach my fist to the center of your pretty face! You've done some low shit to me, you prick, but this --"

"Shut up! Don't you dare talk like that to me. You couldn't keep your hands off her, could you? Not even for one night!"

"But she--"

"Shut up, pervert!" Sanzo thumbed the hammer back on his pistol. "If I hadn't waited up expecting her to come running out of your room at some point, who knows where she might have ended up."

Gojyo's jaw dropped. "Are you telling me Layla spent the night in your room?"

"That's right. Some of us are capable of putting the needs of others first."

Gojyo was so totally flabbergasted he turned away from Sanzo to stare at Layla, giving her a look that was a combination of disbelief, hurt, and accusation. All that escaped him was a single word.

"Why?"

"What was I supposed to do?" Layla set the bags she still held down on the table next to Goku's place. "I had planned on sleeping in the kitchen near the hearth fire. Sanzo insisted I stay with him, on the far side of the room, with Goku between us."

That revelation left silence in its wake. Layla moved to Gojyo's side and put her arm around his waist.

"Sanzo-sama," she said. "While I respect your rank, I must say I am disappointed in you. That was a very cruel trick to play on Gojyo."

Sanzo didn't even look at her. His attention was fixed on Gojyo, whose fists were still clenched. Layla looked from one man to the other, then at the pistol still held in Sanzo's rock steady grip.

"Fine." Layla stepped in front of Gojyo, putting herself between him and the pistol. "Go on, Sanzo-sama. Kill the real cause of your bad temper."

Hakkai and Goku both gasped aloud.

"Layla!" Gojyo cried. He put his hands on her shoulders, about to push her aside, but she slapped his hands away.

"Go on, Sanzo-sama," she said again. "You want to punish Gojyo for adding yet another burden to the load you already carry. Isn't it wiser to get rid of the burden and spare the man? After all, Gojyo did nothing wrong in rescuing me from a life of slavery."

Sanzo's eyes narrowed. His lips thinned to a cold line. He pressed the muzzle of the pistol against Layla's forehead, exactly where the chakra mark would rest if she wore one.

"Never get between me and my target. Next time I will shoot you."

Sanzo eased the hammer down, thumbed the safety on, then tucked the pistol away inside his sleeve. He shot one last meaningful glare at Gojyo, then beckoned Hakkai to him as he stalked over to a table in another corner so they could discuss travel plans.

Gojyo blew out his breath, grabbed the nearest chair, and collapsed onto it, pulling Layla down onto his knee. "Honey, don't ever do that again. He means it. He'll shoot you."

"He's not what one usually sees in a Sanzo, is he?"

"Don't know. He's the only one I've ever met." Gojyo's attention suddenly sharpened. "Have you met any other Sanzos?"

"One, a long time ago. He was such a sweet man, the soul of gentleness."

Across the room, Sanzo's head snapped around. Every single one of his senses focused on Layla. She stared off into the distance, her smile pure and serene.

"I think his name was Koumyou Sanzo."

Sanzo came charging across the room, silk sleeves flapping, and seized Layla by the arms. Before Gojyo could react, Sanzo jerked her up off Gojyo's lap and glared down into her eyes.

"Say that again!"

"What? That I met Koumyou Sanzo?"

"You're sure? You're absolutely positive?"

"Yes! Please, Sanzo-sama, you're hurting me!"

"When did you meet him? Where was it?"

"My village. I was eight years old."

"Tell me! Tell me everything you remember about him!"

Layla smiled. "He was so nice, especially to all of us children. He'd sit out under this big tree in the meadow, making paper airplanes for all of us. The one he gave me was the fanciest of all. When I asked him why, he just patted me on the head and said, 'You must drink your fill of happiness early, child.'"

Sanzo let his hands fall from Layla's arms. His heart thudded within him, every beat a sharp pain. "Did he tell you what he meant by that?"

Layla shook her head. "When I told my mother that night as she tucked me in, she started to cry. I think she believed Sanzo-sama somehow knew that I was destined to die early." Layla bit her lip, clasping her hands together so tight the knuckles whitened. "It's almost funny, isn't it? It wasn't about my death but hers."

"Tell me more," Sanzo demanded. "What else did this Sanzo do?"

Layla shrugged. "He was only there two or three days. He'd stay with whoever offered him a bed for the night. He'd eat whatever we brought to him. I never heard him say a harsh word about anybody or anything. He was always smiling, always speaking in that soft, kind voice." Layla smiled again. "The light just shined out of him."

"What?"

"The light. Like his body was a lantern made of colored glass, or paper, and inside he had a candle or a wick floating in oil." She moved her hands, trying to shape the mental image into words. "All light. Like his body was just a cloak he'd put on to keep him warm."

"You could see that?" Sanzo's voice was the barest whisper.

Layla nodded. Then, realizing the consternation on his face, Layla reached out to lay her hand on his arm.

"I'm sorry, Sanzo-sama. Have I said something wrong?"

"Don't touch me!" Sanzo jerked back from Layla. "You could see, but I never did..."

"Please, Sanzo-sama!" Layla took a step toward him, both hands outstretched in entreaty.

"No!" Sanzo flung up one arm, trying to shield himself from the girl with his long sleeve.

"Don't be angry with me!" Layla pleaded. "I was just a little girl. I won't say anything else."

Warring emotions surged through Sanzo. Now he put out one hand toward Layla, his gesture wavering between begging and warding her off.

"Did he – did he say anything else?"

Layla's smile came back. "He told us we should always be kind to everyone we meet, especially those people we feel like we've met before." She closed her eyes, reciting. "'Such people are important to you, like your family in another life. Sometimes it's their turn to help you, and sometimes it's your turn to help them.'"

Hakkai and Goku had drifted closer to listen.

"Karmic debt," Hakkai said. "What a simple, beautiful way to put that. Who are you quoting, Layla?"

"My teacher." Heat and cold shot through Sanzo. His old wounds ached. His head hurt and his mouth had gone dry. "She met my master."

"Your...?" Layla stared at him as if seeing him for the first time. "But if you wear the sutra, then that means..." Layla's eyes widened. She let out a piercing cry of grief. "Oh no. Not him. Not Koumyou-sama." Tears began to pour down her cheeks. "I'm so sorry, Sanzo-sama!" She let out another wail. "Oh Kami-sama! Why! Why do they all have to die?" She put both hands over her face, shoulders shaking as the sobs wracked her. "Sweetest... kindest... So happy just to be near him..."

Layla staggered away, moving blindly through the tables toward the door. Gojyo rose from his seat to go after her. Before he knew what he was doing, Sanzo pushed past Gojyo, rushing to gather Layla into his arms and settle her head under his chin. One hand stroked her long braid while he murmured to her, not so much words as the kind of soothing sounds that might quiet a crying child. Layla leaned on him as all the grief she'd been keeping locked up inside her poured out.

"Oh wow," Goku said. "Look at that. Sanzo's being--"

"Nice--" said Hakkai.

"To a woman," Gojyo finished.


	5. Chapter 5 Deep Thoughts

CHAPTER FIVE Deep Thoughts

An hour later they were loaded up and on the road again. Sanzo sat up front as usual, his mind awhirl with all the thoughts and memories Layla had stirred up. Layla sat on Gojyo's lap, so exhausted by her tears that if she wasn't really asleep, she was so close it made no difference. Gojyo kept his long arms around her, supporting her to keep her comfortable despite all the bumps and rocks and gopher holes. After a while Gojyo started to doze, his head resting on Layla's while she leaned on his shoulder. Goku fretted and hummed to himself, his liking for Layla keeping him quiet. Hakkai was off in whatever mental realm he retreated to while he drove.

Sanzo cherished the rare quiet. It gave him time to think over the morning with Layla. He still couldn't quite believe her insane courage and loyalty to Gojyo, the way she'd stepped between him and Sanzo's pistol then had the gall to mouth off at Sanzo in a way that would have gotten anybody else drilled instantly. Sanzo flinched, recalling how he'd pressed the muzzle to the place on Layla's forehead where the chakra mark would appear. What Sanzo's master would have said about that display of temper, Sanzo couldn't bear to imagine.

Worse yet, Layla had stared him down and answered his scorn with her own contempt, far colder and cutting so much deeper. The profound truth in what she'd said to him about killing the burden and not the man had been the final insult. There he was, highest ranking priest in Buddhism, and this know-nothing peasant girl, fresh from the slave market, had shamed him, making him lose face in front of his divinely chosen companions. Such monumental vexation should have been grounds for shooting Layla the instant another opportunity came along.

And then, as if matters weren't already infuriating enough, Layla had met his master, Koumyou Sanzo. Met him when she was old enough for his master to read her karmic record and see what kind of life lay ahead of her. Years later, she still carried the memory of Koumyo Sanzo in her heart like a precious treasure. She had seen the light that blazed within him, a light that Genjo Sanzo had only dimly perceived. Most important of all, the news of his death had shattered her. She knew what the world had lost when Koumyo Sanzo closed his eyes forever.

No wonder she wouldn't let Gojyo touch her that way. No wonder she and Hakkai were like family already, when Hakkai lived under partial monastic vows. It was already obvious that Goku had formed a serious attachment to Layla. The fact that he was keeping quiet so he wouldn't disturb her proved that. He'd probably start following Layla around all day, if he didn't adore Sanzo first and best as the one who freed him. That made a smile twitch on Sanzo's lips. Layla could charm Gojyo and Hakkai, but nothing could pry Goku from Sanzo's side.

Sanzo's thoughts turned gloomy again. Layla had seen enlightenment. She had seen the holy light that filled Koumyo Sanzo. She didn't know its proper name, but her heart and soul had recognized and thirsted after it, just like the other innocent children who gathered around his master. A thousand little moments rose in his memory, moments of closeness between master and disciple that had made them look much like father and son. Sanzo scrubbed his sleeve across his eyes, cursing the sting of sentimental tears.

The things of this world were being stripped from Layla to free her once her time came. Would she recognize the moment when the powers of Heaven called her into service? Would she accept what awaited her, or would she fight it and try to cling to some stupid worldly attachment? Not for the first time, Sanzo thought he'd had it easy, knowing no other home than the temple, no other life but that of a monk. It was much harder to abandon the world if one had tasted the good things it offered, sometimes unto addiction. Sanzo regarded his cigarette and ground it out with a muttered curse.

Layla. Who was she? Who had she been, and who would she become? She and Gojyo clearly had some kind of tie. Brother and sister, perhaps. If she was tied to Gojyo, could she also have ties to Hakkai, Goku, even Sanzo? Goku was unlikely. As with everything else, Goku was in a category all by himself. Sanzo had no clues to point him toward the possible relationship Layla had with Hakkai. As for Sanzo himself...

When Layla had first seen Sanzo, she'd been shocked. Had she thought she was seeing the same Sanzo, now miraculously younger? He and his master didn't look anything alike aside from the chakra mark and the regalia of a Sanzo priest. Perhaps Layla had been shocked to see a Sanzo, one so "pretty," without the light shining from inside him. How Sanzo hated himself for the way he'd cowered when she'd revealed her ability to see enlightenment. None of them would ever guess he'd cried out to stop her from touching him not to preserve any sanctity of his own, but to keep Layla from soiling her hand by touching the proud, stupid, unworthy fool who had come within a breath of killing her.

She'd stood there, calm, no fear of death, ready to die for Gojyo. Would she have done the same thing for Sanzo if Gojyo had been the one holding the pistol? She'd die for that stupid drunken hanyo, that perverted playboy, but to the Thirty-First of China, Genjo Sanzo, she'd spoken words that sliced through his defenses, leaving him naked and exposed and bleeding.

His resentment faded before the memory of how she'd wept at the news of his master's death. He'd never met anyone else who felt the loss of his master as deeply as he did. The knowledge that Layla had preserved the love in her child's heart for Koumyou Sanzo went a long way toward cooling Sanzo's temper toward her. He hadn't told her any of the grisly details of that hellish night. What he had done shocked Sanzo himself even more than Goku, Hakkai, and Gojyo, who'd stood around with their jaws hanging open when Sanzo rushed to hold Layla in his arms and let her tears soak his sleeve.

Under Hakkai's supervision, Gojyo and Goku loaded up the jeep while Sanzo took Layla to a quiet table in one shaded corner. He listened to her talk as she recalled more moments from her time with Koumyou Sanzo. Now she spoke to Sanzo as if they'd been friends for ages, sharing memories of a beloved teacher, his strange little quirks and funny mannerisms. Layla still used the title "-sama" when addressing him, but some of the distance and awe had gone out of her tone. Sanzo found himself feeling better than he had in some time. Layla had eased the ache in parts of his mind and soul steeped in bitterness and pain.

Then he'd had to watch and say nothing while Layla climbed into the back of the jeep and sat down on Gojyo's lap, leaning back against him while his arms closed around her. Gojyo would spend the long hours on the road enjoying the pleasure of having Layla resting in his embrace. Just as he had the night before, when Layla had been wearing that nightdress that managed to be both maidenly and provocative all at once. Even when he knew that Gojyo and Layla would never be lovers in this life, Sanzo still felt a foolish stab of jealousy. Sanzo had the horrible feeling that he, the Thirty-First of China, Genjo Sanzo, might be developing some kind of crush on this pretty little slave girl.


	6. Chapter 6 Conflicting Needs

CHAPTER SIX Conflicting Needs

Gojyo sat on a fallen tree trunk off to one side of the clearing by himself, smoking and tearing apart weed after weed. He couldn't stand the sound of the monkey boy's chatter and Layla's replies, salted now and then with some snotty remark from Sanzo. With only an two or three hours of sunlight left, they'd made camp for the night. Gojyo couldn't escape any farther without being completely obvious, so he sat there with his back turned, smoking and fretting.

The cautious crunch of boots on twigs and dry leaves told him Hakkai had finally decided to come check on him.

"You all right?" Hakkai asked.

Several smart ass replies crossed Gojyo's mind, but since it was Hakkai asking, he settled for the sullen truth.

"She doesn't like me."

"Of course she does. She smiles at you more than anyone else."

"Just because she's polite and grateful for my help, that doesn't mean she likes me."

"Since when do you care how much a woman actually likes you?"

Gojyo felt his heart drop even lower. That was the kind of stone cold cut Gojyo expected from Sanzo, not from gentle, green-eyed Hakkai.

"Fine. Forget it." Gojyo sucked down the last of the smoke in his current cigarette, blew it out into the wind which meant it blew back into his face and Hakkai's, then dropped the butt and ground it out beneath his bootheel with more force than it really needed. "I'll get over it. Shouldn't take me any time at all to do that, right? Seeing how I'm such an insensitive bastard."

"Gojyo."

Hakkai's gentle chiding tone made Gojyo wish he could lay his head in Hakkai's lap. Hakkai's long, tapering fingers would comb through his own crimson hair, smoothing the tangles there just as they could somehow ease the tangles in his mind and heart.

"There's a big difference between Layla not liking you at all and Layla just not being ready to sleep with you."

Gojyo snorted, but said nothing.

"Think about it," Hakkai said. "Her party is attacked by bandits. Her family gets slaughtered before her eyes. Then she's held captive by those same murderers before being sold into slavery. And then some tall stranger with flaming red hair and eyes to match wins her in a card game like she's a cow or a sack of grain."

"I never--"

"Hush." Hakkai reached behind Gojyo to wind his fingers into the crimson hair covering the back of Gojyo's neck and knead the stiff tendons there. "So he takes her back to his inn, where she's no doubt fully expecting to have to pay for his protection with her body. Instead, she comes face to face with this legendary holy man."

"Sanzo is a taste of hell, that's for damn sure."

"Some days," Hakkai agreed. "So you see, Layla has had no chance to recover from any of this. She hasn't got the strength or the energy for something as risky as a new love affair."

Gojyo scowled. "Man, if you ever decide to put yourself back on the market, the chicks will brand you Mr. Sensitive and then you'll be fighting them off with a stick."

Hakkai looked away, his cheeks turning the shade of dusky pink that signaled a mixture of pleasure and embarrassment. "Well, thanks. But I don't think so."

They sat together in silence punctuated now and then by Sanzo's fan whacking Goku, Goku's yelps, and Layla's laughter.

"Hear that?" Hakkai asked. "She's laughing. Most victims of such terrible events couldn't do that for weeks, maybe even years. Be happy for her, Gojyo. With us she's found a safe place to rest. Three big brothers and one little brother who can escort her to the next town. There she can try to get by until she's strong enough to either go back to whatever family she has left, or build a new life around a new one."

"I don't want to be her 'big brother.'"

"Oh, stop pouting." The sudden harshness in Hakkai's tone made Gojyo look at him in surprise. Hakkai glared at him, his lips compressed into a thin, bitter line. "The gods gave you the gift of saving Layla. Wishing you could use her like you use most of your women is pathetic. Worse, it's totally selfish!"

Gojyo stared at Hakkai. He couldn't have been more shocked if Hakkai had slapped him across the face. Gojyo wasn't the sharpest knife in the kitchen, but he was close enough to Hakkai to realize something had hurt Hakkai, something he himself had done. And then it hit him. The night before they'd arrived at the town where Gojyo had won Layla, Hakkai allowed Gojyo to stay with him all night, to spend hours and hours torturing each other with pleasures learned by their many years of living together, and then to sleep curled up together until sunrise.

And here Gojyo was mooning over some girl he'd only just met, one he'd leave behind after their next stop.

"Oh, 'Kai, I'm sorry." He held out his hand to Hakkai, palm down.

"What's that for?" Hakkai said, still upset.

"You can slap it or hold it or grab it and drag me off into the tent, whatever you want."

Hakkai sighed. "Well, at least this time I didn't have to hit you over the head to make you see I was upset about something."

Gojyo hung his head. "I'm sorry. I'm such an asshole. I shouldn't even look at anything in a skirt, not when I've got you."

Hakkai leaned on him. "Do you really mean that?" His voice was so quiet Gojyo almost didn't hear him.

Gojyo slung an arm around his shoulders. "Hell yes. You have all the virtues of a woman and only one or two of the habits that make women such hell to live with."

"I'd like a detailed list, please. Of both."

"Let's see. Virtues: you're a great cook, you take good care of me when I get hurt or sick, you know how to read my mind and tell how I'm really feeling, you like to clean, and last but never least," Gojyo turned his head so his lips brushed Hakkai's ear, "you've got that kinky streak that makes me hard as an iron bar just thinking about it."

Hakkai tilted his head up just enough so their lips met. "Now what about those bad habits?"

Gojyo grinned against Hakkai's lips. "Sorry, what were we talking about?"

Hakkai smiled back, planting a quick kiss on Gojyo's neck before he straightened up. "Now why don't you tell me what's really bothering you?"

Gojyo groaned. "OK, fine." He lit another cigarette and sorted out his thoughts. "What I just don't get is how Layla could like that pissy monk so much."

"Are you sure she does? Religious awe and a firm sense of duty aren't the same as the affection of true friendship."

Gojyo burst out laughing. "Are you writing this stuff down? If that isn't a quote from one of those books you're always reading, it should be!" He gave Hakkai a playful poke in the ribs. "But yeah, I am sure. I know every signal a woman gives off when she's hot for a particular guy." He jerked his thumb over his shoulder. "She's gone through the whole list of what a virgin's body can do."

Hakkai gave him a solemn bow. "On that point I can only yield to your far greater weight of experience."

"Damn right!"

"Amazing." Hakkai looked back at Layla, who stood between Sanzo and Goku, gripping Sanzo's wrist in both hands to keep his fan away from Goku where he hunkered down against her hip. "Look at that. Sanzo's letting her touch him."

Gojyo spun around so fast he nearly fell off the tree trunk. "I don't fucking believe it. Mr. I-Hate-Women has finally found somebody he can stand."

Hakkai and Gojyo turned to look at each other.

"You don't think--" Hakkai began.

"He wouldn't really--" Gojyo said.

They both shook their heads.

"No way," Gojyo said. "No fucking way, and I mean that literally. His Holiness might like to act like he's afraid of nothing, but I'll bet you every inch I've got that if it ever came down to it, he'd be the world's most terrified virgin."

Hakkai put his head to one side, clearly pondering the question. "It's never a good idea to underestimate Sanzo."

Gojyo looked from Hakkai to Sanzo and back again. "Hey! Hey! Get your kinky mind off that monk!"

Hakkai pouted at him. "You never let me have any fun."

"If it's fun you want..." Gojyo tackled Hakkai, dragging him down off the far side of the tree trunk, out of sight of the other three across the clearing.


	7. Chapter 7 Monkeying Around

CHAPTER SEVEN Monkeying Around

Down on the riverbank, Goku sat on a flat boulder while Layla stood in the shallows, working her way through the piles of dirty laundry she'd ordered everyone to bring to her. She'd gathered the skirt of her green dress up just above her knees and tied a knot in it to hold it in place. Goku watched her work, trying to figure out why something didn't look right to him. Layla was so pretty and so smart. She could talk just like Sanzo, with all those big words. But she told Hakkai she'd do the laundry, as long as somebody could help her carry it all, then hang it all up to dry. At least she wasn't some snotty little princess, afraid of getting dirty, like some of the girls who liked to hang around Gojyo while he was playing cards. Goku couldn't stand them. Layla was pretty enough to be one of them, but she didn't mind helping out and working hard. Goku decided he liked her.

"Um, Layla? I was wondering..."

"Yes?"

"Well, see, I never get to talk to any girls, so I was wondering if maybe you could help me understand some things."

"I'll try. What would you like to know about?"

"Hakkai said most men fall into certain types, just like most women do too. What I don't get is how you figure out what type you are, and which type the other person needs to be so you get the best type for your type." He looked up at her through his shaggy bangs. "See?"

"You want to know what type of-- of male person you are, so you can figure out what type of woman would be best for you?"

"To start off, yeah."

"That's a very big question, Goku. People have been trying to figure that out since men and women first started feeling attracted to each other."

"That's another thing. How does it start? How do you know where or even when to start?"

Layla looked past him to the tall oak farther up the riverbank. Sanzo sat in the shade, leaning up against its trunk. He was close enough to hear, but far enough away to have his usual large area of personal space.

"Maybe," Layla said, "this is the kind of talk you should have with Hakkai or Gojyo."

"Them? They won't tell me anything! Gojyo just laughs and talks about doing all this stuff with girls that sounds totally gross. He goes on and on about it until Hakkai or Sanzo tells him to shut up."

"I see." Layla slapped another shirt against the rock, making water fly up everywhere. "Gojyo likes to brag, does he?"

Goku heard the tone in her voice, a tone a lot like the one Sanzo used just before he pulled out his fan and started swinging. Goku figured he'd better talk about something else.

"Hakkai doesn't like to talk about women at all. One night I got Gojyo drunk enough to tell me Hakkai was in love once with some girl who died. It was messy, and Hakkai thinks it's all his fault."

"Was it?"

"I don't know. Like I said, they never tell me anything."

"How sad for Hakkai. He must be very lonely."

Goku nodded. "Hakkai is such a nice guy. He tries to take care of me and help me learn important stuff. He was a teacher, back before all the bad stuff that happened to him." Goku stopped, wondering if he'd said too much as usual, but Layla just went on scrubbing another shirt. "I bet he'd get more girls than Gojyo if he'd just lighten up."

"It's very difficult, Goku. The first time you give your heart to someone can be the only time you ever do it, at least for some people. Hakkai sounds like he's that way."

Goku nodded. "Gojyo should keep his on a string like a yo-yo. Give it, take it back!" He mimicked the motions of throwing and retrieving a yo-yo. "Give it, take it back!"

"I think," Layla said, "Gojyo might give his body easily and often, but not his heart."

Goku heard a sudden snort from up the riverbank and glanced back. Only Sanzo sat there, nodding a bit as he dozed off under the oak. Goku scooted closer to Layla.

"Then there's Sanzo." He sighed. "I can't tell if he just doesn't know anything since he grew up in the temple, or if he has something against women and doesn't want me getting tangled up with them."

"Have you asked him?"

"Are you kidding? If I said it like that, he'd probably shoot me!"

"I wonder," Layla said. "Is Sanzo your guardian? You make it sound like you're not related, and yet he watches over you like your father or older brother. You even stay with him in his room at inns."

"Oh, that's just because--"

Sudden survival instinct made Goku clamp his mouth shut. He couldn't tell Layla, who was a woman and a stranger, how more and more often lately Gojyo and Hakkai roomed together, staying in there all night. No drinking, no gambling, just those weird noises like fighting that Sanzo absolutely refused to explain to him.

"Because?" Layla prompted him.

"Sanzo knows Hakkai can't keep Gojyo out of trouble all the time, so if I was with them I'd learn things Sanzo doesn't want me knowing."

"Ah. Well then. Sanzo is a very wise guardian." Layla frowned. "But I still don't understand how the two of you got together. Did Sanzo adopt you? Monks aren't allowed to have their children at the monastery with them, unless they're also monks."

Goku shrugged. This was more dangerous territory. He didn't mind telling the story, but Sanzo would find some reason to whack him with the fan. "Sanzo found me one day where I was chained up in this big cage. He got me out of there and let me travel with him."

Layla dropped the pair of Gojyo's jeans she held. "A cage? Chains? What kind of monsters were your parents?"

"No no no!" Goku held up both hands. "It's not like that! I can't remember why I got put in that cage. I'd been there a really long time. There was nobody else around except me."

Layla flung the clothes aside and stormed through the water toward Goku. He was about to rush back to Sanzo when he looked into Layla's eyes and realized she wasn't angry, she was crying. Her arms closed around him and she hugged him against her wet skirt.

"Poor child. I hate this world! I hate the monsters who live in it!"

"It's OK! It's OK!" Goku pulled back, shaking the water from his hair. "Meeting Sanzo was the best thing that's ever happened to me. I know that's true!"

"Sweet boy." Layla took Goku's chin in her hand and made him look up at her. "You love him a lot, don't you?"

"More than anything." Goku suddenly sprang back with a yelp and smacked himself on the back of the head. "Here I am wanting answers, but I'm the one doing all the talking!" He took his seat on the boulder. "OK. Now you tell me what you think about Gojyo, Hakkai, and Sanzo, what types they are and what type of women would be best for them."

"All that, on just two days' acquaintance?" Layla laughed. "And just what are you going to do with all this wisdom?"

"'Do' with it? Right now I just want to know what you think."

"I'll try, Goku. But I really don't know all that much about men, and even less about these three in particular."

"Gojyo seems to me to be just what he appears to be. Big, strong, ready to chase whoever or whatever captures his attention. Here today, gone tomorrow. Life's just one big party."

Goku nodded.

"As for his type of woman, I think there's probably one special woman Gojyo has in mind, and he keeps trying to find her in all these women he chases. He'll catch a glimpse of her here and there, but he hasn't found most or even enough of her in any one woman yet."

"Too bad he can't just keep the pieces he likes and build her as he goes."

Layla laughed. "Now there's a good idea. The trouble is, some of the pieces might not fit with the rest. What would he do then?"

Goku shrugged. "Leave them out?"

"That's the trouble with real people. You have to take them as they are, with whatever pieces they have or don't have."

"What about Hakkai?"

"He seems to be very quiet and shy, so polite and kind and easy to get along with. That surprises me, since the rest of you are such strong, loud, colorful people."

"Really? You think so?"

"Oh yes. That tells me there must be a lot more to Hakkai than what he allows people to see."

Goku nodded, thinking about the terrible scar across Hakkai's belly, and about the night he and Sanzo had gone to Gojyo's apartment looking for Cho Gonou, the man Hakkai had been. The man who had murdered a thousand youkai, cutting down men, women, and children in cold blood.

"And that means," Layla went on, "that I can't tell what kind of woman would suit him because all I can see of his true nature is the glimpse I catch now and then when he thinks no one is looking."

"Makes sense, I guess." Goku looked back at the spot where Sanzo sat under the tree. He was still there, arms folded, head down, but something made Goku feel like Sanzo was closer than he had been. Goku wanted to know what Layla thought about Sanzo most of all, but if Sanzo overheard them talking about him, that paper fan would be the least of Goku's worries.

"That brings us to Sanzo." Layla paused in her work to rub at her forearms.

"Are you OK?"

"My arms hurt. I haven't done this kind of work in some time." She shook out her hands and arms, stretched them high overhead to get the kinks out of her back, then bent to beat another one of Hakkai's shirts against the rock.

"Sanzo..." she mused. "It's difficult to get to know him as a person. He has so much responsibility, being a Sanzo, that the individual person that he is almost ceases to exist."

"What? You mean like—he dies?"

"No, no. Nothing that drastic. The person that he was before he was elevated to the rank of Sanzo exists, but only inside him, in the back of his mind, so to speak. He has to be Sanzo and only Sanzo, all the time."

"Why?"

"Can you picture Sanzo being anyone else? Anything else?"

Goku thought about it. "No. Sanzo's just Sanzo."

"Right. But that wasn't always true. There was a time in his life when he wasn't Sanzo. Do you know when that was?"

"Before he became Sanzo?"

"Right. When was that?"

"When – when his teacher was still alive!"

"Very good. Back then, Sanzo could be whoever he was born into being."

Goku frowned and shook his head. "No, that's not right. Sanzo's teacher pulled him out of a river when he was still a baby."

"What?"

"It's true! Sanzo was a baby. There he was, floating along in the river, and his teacher scooped him up and took him back to the temple. Raised him like his own son."

"How do you know all this?"

"I heard the monks talking about it. Really freaked them out when that Sanzo came home carrying this little baby boy. Our Sanzo was the best apprentice he had. Best at Buddhist studies, best at martial arts, best at everything."

"Yes," Layla said, glancing toward the oak. "He wouldn't settle for being second best."

"Not Sanzo!"

"Poor little baby," Layla said softly. "So Sanzo has never known who his true parents are?"

Goku shook his head. Layla worked at Hakkai's shirt in silence. Goku could see by the intense look on her face that she was thinking hard about something.

"Layla?"

"Hm?"

"Are you upset? Did I say something bad?"

"No, Goku. You didn't say anything. I was just thinking about how much the four of you have in common..."

"Like what?"

"Like the way your parents haven't treated you very well. What about Hakkai's parents?"

"He's an orphan. He says he doesn't know what happened to his parents."

"One tragedy after another." She shook her head. "And you?"

"What about me?"

"Your parents, Goku. Who were they?"

"I don't know." He picked at a bit of lichen growing on the boulder where he sat. "I can't remember anything about them." He looked over at Sanzo. "All I have is Sanzo. He freed me. He's my family now."

Goku turned back toward Layla and let out a startled yelp. She was right beside him, catching his head in her hands and planting a kiss on his cheek.

"You're a good boy, Goku."

Goku blushed bright red, one hand to his cheek. For several minutes he said nothing, watching Layla work her way through the pile of dirty clothes.

"So..." he said. "I guess you can't really tell what kind of woman is right for Sanzo, huh?"

"Monks don't have girlfriends, Goku."

"Right. Only--"

"What?"

"Sometimes, I wish..."

Layla stopped working and looked at him. The more she waited, the more embarrassed he got. But if he couldn't tell Layla, who could he tell? Not Hakkai or that jerk Gojyo. They'd pick on Sanzo until he shot them all just to shut them up. Goku glanced around, then beckoned Layla over to him. With one last look at Sanzo, Goku leaned over to whisper in Layla's ear.

"I wish Sanzo could have a girlfriend. If that's what makes Gojyo so happy all the time, maybe a little of that would be good for Sanzo. He's so gloomy. I just wish he could be happy sometimes too."

Layla smiled and patted his shoulder. "Do you ever think about finding a girlfriend for yourself, Goku?"

He made a face, part disgust, part uncertainty. "I don't know what I'd do with her even if I had one. Right now I'm on the road all the time with Sanzo."

"True." Layla went back to work on the laundry.

Goku thought about his next question. This one was really important too. Maybe now he'd finally find out how much of Gojyo's talk was just that, all talk.

"Hey Layla, have you ever been somebody's girlfriend?"

"No, Goku. I haven't."

"What, never?"

"No. Never."

"Why not?"

Layla sighed and let her head hang down for a moment. "Maybe I'm just not lucky that way."

"But – you're so pretty, and so nice! Gojyo's going to hurt himself soon if he doesn't--" Goku turned bright red and started coughing.

"Doesn't what?"

"If he doesn't grow up and stop bothering you. Sanzo keeps watching Gojyo when he does that. To you, I mean."

"Oh? And how does Sanzo look when he's watching Gojyo?"

"Like he wants to shoot him."

"Doesn't Sanzo usually want to shoot Gojyo?"

"Well, yeah, but this is worse."

Layla shook her head. "All this violence. I suppose I shouldn't expect much else when your leader is a Buddhist monk who handles that pistol more than his prayer beads."

Goku shrugged. "We're warriors. It's what we do."

"If you say so."

"But anyway, nevermind about all that. You do know what guys and their girlfriends do together, right?"

"Go on picnics? Dance? Count the stars on clear nights?"

Goku sat back, puzzled. "Are you making fun of me?"

"I'm not trying to. What are you really asking me, Goku?"

"You know. The stuff Gojyo is always trying to do. You know."

"Oh. That."

"Right. So you know about it, then? Can you tell me?"

"Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm afraid I don't actually know much of anything."

"You've got to be kidding me! You've spent a whole night inside Gojyo's room and nothing happened? Come on!"

Layla dropped the jeans she held. She spun around and floundered through the water faster than Goku would have thought she could move. She caught him by his collar and jerked him up onto his knees.

"Listen to me, little boy," she snapped. "I never asked to be bought and sold like so much livestock. I never asked Gojyo to win me in that stupid card game. The one thing I have asked Gojyo to do is to keep his hands to himself!"

"OK! OK! Sorry!" Goku held up both hands.

Layla let go of him.

"So you've never done that with any man?"

"No."

"And you don't want Gojyo?"

"No, I don't."

Layla stormed back to the laundry. Soon she had so much water flying around that it looked to Goku like she might be a water sprite herself. An angry one. He looked back at Sanzo, who was sitting up watching the two of them while he smoked. Goku wondered where Gojyo and Hakkai had disappeared to. He could bet on why, even if he didn't know where. An idea came to him.

"Layla?"

"What?"

"Is it because you don't like men?"

"What?"

Layla turned toward him again. Goku held up both hands, shooting a quick look at Sanzo, who was leaning back on his elbows now.

"All I mean is, I know that some people are like that. Some men like men, so I thought maybe some women would like women."

"You know a lot for somebody who acts like he doesn't know much." Layla slammed more laundry down on the rock. "I haven't done that with any man because I haven't met a man I liked well enough to do that with." She glared at him. "Now have we got that straight?"

Goku nodded so hard he almost fell off the boulder.

Behind him, he heard noises like coughing and choking. If he didn't know Sanzo well enough to know Sanzo never laughed, he might think Sanzo was laughing at him now.

"Huh," he said. "To hear Gojyo talk, you'd think sex is the only thing that makes life worth living."

"For some people that's probably true."

"But not you?"

"No. Not me."

Now that he knew Sanzo was definitely listening, Goku tried even harder to think of the right way to say things. As usual, when his next idea hit, it popped right out of his mouth. "Oh! I get it! You're like Sanzo!"

Layla froze. She threw aside the latest pair of pants, put one hand on her hip and the other over her face.

"I just know I'm going to regret this," she said. "Go ahead. Tell me what you mean by that."

"He can't do anything with anybody that way either. It's one of his vows or something."

"Yes, it would be."

"So? Are you a monk too? No, wait a minute, women can't be monks, right? They sure don't let any into the temples!"

"Right. Not a monk. Although there are Buddhist nuns."

"What's a nun?"

"A woman who shaves her head, takes her vows, puts on the robes of a monk, and lives a monastic life."

"So there are lady monks!"

"It's not the same, Goku. And don't ever let Sanzo hear you talk like that."

"OK, OK." He bounced happily in his seat. "So that's why you and Sanzo get along like you do."

"Were you worried it was something else?"

"Oh no!" His hands came up to ward her off, again so fast he almost fell backward off the boulder. "Like I said, Sanzo doesn't even notice most women, so this morning, when we saw him being nice to you, well..."

"Well what?"

"Sanzo's never nice to anybody, that's all." He gave her his bright, dazzling grin. "So you must be somebody really special!"

Layla hurried back to the laundry. "I think Sanzo-sama was just glad to meet somebody who remembered his master. When you really miss somebody, it helps to talk about them with people who knew them."

"Huh." Goku thought about everything they'd been saying about Sanzo. "So Layla, maybe you really do know what type Sanzo is?"

"Single-minded little creature, aren't you?"

"When was the last time I said I was hungry?"

"Oh. Sorry. Are you?"

"All the time! But this is more important."

"More important to you than food?" Layla shook her head, laughing.

"So?"

"I read a story once about a man who was a knight. He took religious vows then rode around on his horse looking for injustice to right and downtrodden people to uplift."

"Sounds like Gojyo."

"It does, but he hasn't taken vows, has he?"

"Not those vows! No way! One night he did say something about swearing to drink every bottle dry, then start working his way through all the women he could--"

Layla clapped her hands over her ears. "Not the same thing!"

"OK. Sorry. Go on."

"Sanzo-sama is the keeper and guardian of the Maten Sutra. By protecting that, he's helping to defend this world against all the chaos and evil that want to destroy it."

"Just by wearing it? Wow."

"If Sanzo-sama seems very remote or upset or even depressed, it could be due to the burden he carries. He's very young to be a Sanzo."

"How old are you, Layla?"

Layla shot him a frown, then laughed. "You're lucky you're so cute, or I might get offended." She paused, then lowered her voice. "I'm twenty."

"Huh. I thought you were older than that. The way you talk, you sound like you're even older than Sanzo."

Layla peered down into the water. "What was that?"

"What?"

"That." She pointed to the water between them, then started walking toward Goku.

"I don't see anything."

"That." She jumped, then hurried over to the boulder. "Lean over. You'll see it."

Goku leaned over. As the water became still, all he could see was his own reflection. "All I see is me."

Layla reached back, grabbed him by the belt, and pulled. Caught off balance, Goku flew forward, hands outstretched as he hit the water. He came up splashing and howling.

"Saaaaaaaaaanzo!" Help me! Layla's trying to drown me! Help!"


	8. Chapter 8 Full Body Contact

CHAPTER EIGHT Full Body Contact

Sanzo stood up, brushed bits of grass and leaves off his robes, lit another cigarette, then wandered down to the riverbank. Gojyo and Hakkai came running from the direction of the campsite. Gojyo's boots weren't laced and his headband hung down around his neck. Hakkai's sash was on crooked and his shirt hung open at the neck. Gojyo was always a mess, but for Hakkai to look that sloppy meant only one thing. Sanzo rolled his eyes. Maybe now Gojyo would leave Layla alone for a while. He stopped a few feet above where Layla stood laughing at Gojyo.

"If you're really trying to drown him," Sanzo said. "I should warn you it won't work."

"Sanzo!" Goku yelled. "Help!"

"Shut up. You needed a bath anyway."

Layla clambered up onto the riverbank. "Does he always ask so many nosy questions, Sanzo-sama?"

"I'm amazed you put up with it for as long as you did." Sanzo took a long drag on his cigarette and blew smoke at the bawling Goku, trying to ignore the way Layla's wet skirt clung to her hips and thighs. "Should I beat him for you?"

"Oh no. But I am beginning to see why you carry that pistol."

Sanzo caught his own startled laugh before it could come out. That made him inhale smoke the wrong way. He choked, coughed, shook his head, then coughed even harder.

"Hakkai!" Goku yelled. "Help! Now she's doing it to Sanzo!"

"His Holiness and the monkey boy both defeated by one unarmed virgin?" Gojyo let out a shout of laughter. "Hey, Layla. I've heard of the 'wet look,' but isn't that a little much?"

Layla glanced down at her damp skirt, then tugged at it, trying to keep the wet cloth from sticking to her body. "You! You wouldn't know a real virgin if she – if she – "

Gojyo gave her his best smile. "Yes?"

The splashing, yelping, and coughing ceased as all four young men awaited Layla's reply.

"You wouldn't know a real virgin even if her father had you bound and gagged and delivered to the temple in the morning!"

Goku forgot his distress so he could roar with laughter. Hakkai laughed so hard he had to lean over and brace his hands on his knees. Gojyo scowled.

"Oh yeah? Nobody's managed to deliver me yet!"

"It could still happen." Sanzo wiped the tears from his eyes. "I'd pay good money to see you bound and gagged."

Layla picked up a coil of rope lying near the duffel bag that had held the dirty laundry. "Make yourself useful, please," she told Gojyo. "String up this clothesline."

She tossed the rope to him. Gojyo let the rope strike his chest and fall into his hands.

"You're a trusting little girl, to put a rope into my hands after joking about tying me up."

"She's not a little girl," Sanzo said, "And I'm the one who wasn't joking. Hey, monkey!" He beckoned Goku out of the water. "Help Gojyo string up this line."

"Awwww, but Sanzo! I'm hungry! All that work with Layla must have taken hours!"

"You didn't work, baka, you talked. Now get going!"

Hakkai helped Layla move the piles of clean wet laundry over to the trees where Gojyo and Goku strung the clothesline.

"Layla," Hakkai said, "Do you think you can get things started for dinner by yourself?"

"I think so. Why?"

"I want to go swimming before it gets dark. I hate to put clean clothes on a dirty body."

"Me too!" Gojyo swung down from the tree branch where he'd sat tying off the clothesline.

"Hey!" Goku yelled. "No way! We still have to get all those clothes up here!"

"Goku!" Layla called. "Will you please see to it all the laundry gets hung up properly? You're the best one to do it, since you're so athletic and good at climbing."

Goku pouted, caught between the praise and the drudgery.

"If you can get it all done without dropping a single item," Layla said, "I'll see if I can't put together a special dessert for you."

"Really?" Goku's golden eyes got even bigger.

"I promise. After all, I do owe you something for tricking you and then pushing you into the river."

"Is that what happened?" Hakkai asked.

Gojyo laughed. "You're just full of surprises!" He dropped his vest, pulled off his headband and let it fall, peeled off his shirt, then kicked aside his boots.

"Whoa, Gojyo! Slow down!" Hakkai said. "Give Layla time to walk away, or at least turn around!"

"Nobody wants to see your ugly hanyo ass naked, baka erokappa," drawled Sanzo.

"Yeah," Goku said. "We don't even want to look at you in your underwear!"

"Not a problem." Gojyo shook back his long crimson hair, gave Layla his best demon lover smile, then stuck his thumbs inside the waistband of his pants. "I never wear any."

Gojyo's pants started to slide down over his hipbones. Layla clamped her eyes shut and spun away from him, running blindly in the opposite direction. Sanzo was distracted, trying to locate his lighter in the jumble of other small odds and ends he kept in one sleeve.

"Sanzo!" Hakkai cried. "Look out!"

Sanzo looked up just as Layla plowed into him. Her shoulder caught him under the diaphragm, driving the wind out of him. He toppled backward, arms flung out as he fought for balance. The ground sloped away underfoot. Reflex made him grab the nearest solid object: Layla. They crashed to the ground together and rolled down into a little hollow under the oaks.

Sanzo ended up on top with his hands and forearms pinned under Layla's shoulders. All he could do was lie there, trying to drag in a complete breath. Beneath him, Layla trembled like a leaf in a high wind, eyes still clenched shut. After finding no sharp pains anywhere that signaled broken bones, Sanzo tried to collect his thoughts.

Listening in on Layla's answers to Goku's endless questions had been highly informative as well as enormously entertaining. Watching her trick Goku into letting her push him into the river had been worth all the grass stains Sanzo had gotten on his robes while sitting under the oak tree. Knowing Goku's yells for help probably interrupted Gojyo and Hakkai during their latest perv party was an added bonus. Layla was still angry at Gojyo, who took twisted pleasure in provoking her. Sanzo knew he'd have to step in and save Layla from Gojyo's teasing as well as the moron's total lack of decency. What he hadn't counted on was ending up like this, hidden from sight with Layla in his arms, his own sense of decency deserting him.

The sun was low enough in the sky to reach long coppery beams through the trees and call fiery highlights from Layla's long dark hair. The warmth of that color contrasted with the cool blue of her eyes as she looked up at him, still trying to focus. Sanzo could feel her heart beating too fast.

"Oh! Sanzo-sama..."

Layla was about to apologize again, as always. For a moment Sanzo let himself wonder how it would feel to hear her calling his name in tones made breathless by another kind of exertion.

"Are you hurt?" he asked.

Layla frowned a little, concentrating. As she shifted her right leg, her thigh pressed against a very delicate part of his body that was growing less and less delicate the more she kept moving like that. Sanzo cursed himself for prompting her to move like that underneath him. The river water was soaking from her skirt into the silk of his robes, turning the protective bulk of the fabric thinner and making it cling to him. If her leg lay between his, then – Sanzo moved his left leg a little and heard Layla's answering gasp.

"Please, Sanzo-sama! Get up!"

Your wish is my command, he thought, hoping like hell she didn't realize what was happening beneath his no longer pristine robes.

"I'd love to," Sanzo said, "but you're holding on too tight."

Her arms were around his neck, her hands clutching at the cloth across his shoulderblades. "Oh!"

Sanzo expected yet another apology. Instead, Layla began to laugh. Peal after peal of musical laughter poured out of her. It was lovely, even better than the modest giggles she'd indulged in earlier when Sanzo had been teasing Goku with his fan. If only it didn't make her whole body shake under his, stirring up in him a longing that he did his best to keep safely locked away. Layla's head fell back, baring the column of her throat. Sanzo watched her pulse beat just beneath her skin. Desire seized him, tempting him to kiss that pulse point, to taste her skin and feel her heart beat against his lips.

"Oh, Sanzo-sama." The last of her laughter left Layla weak but smiling. "Life is so silly sometimes."

"Sometimes," he agreed.

Layla let go of his robes to brush his hair out of his eyes. That sweet, affectionate caress was a flaming torch thrown on the oil-soaked woodpile of his long denied sex drive. He had to stop looking into her eyes, those entrancing sea blue eyes. The easiest way was to let his head fall against her shoulder. Layla stroked his hair, combing her fingers down through it. If that wasn't already bliss itself, with every stroke her fingertips brushed against the sensitive skin on the back of his neck.

Sanzo had to move, to get up, to get away before he betrayed himself. He would not do to Layla the things Gojyo had done, things that made her push Gojyo away and then run from him in such obvious distress. To see Layla look at him with that same wariness in her eyes would make Sanzo want to shoot himself.

"You shouldn't smoke, Sanzo-sama." A gentle tug on his hair made him raise his head and look down at her. Layla ran one fingertip down from his temple to the corner of his jaw. "All that smoke ages your skin. You're so beautiful, Sanzo-sama. Beauty like yours is a gift. Don't spoil it."

Sanzo sighed. "Sometimes I wish I could."

"Really? Is that why you try to make yourself ugly with your anger and all those nasty things you say?"

Layla thought his bad tempter was an act of humility against his physical beauty. Sanzo couldn't stand much more of this.

"It's much simpler than that," he said. "I really am just a bad-tempered, foul-mouthed, arrogant son of a bitch."

That sent Layla off into another gale of laughter, just when Sanzo had almost brought his body back under control again. She hugged him tight, making him feel the firm round shape of her breasts pressing against his chest. Somewhere, Sanzo knew, Kanzeon Bosatso was laughing her ass off.

"Layla, there's something I have to tell you."

"Yes, Sanzo-sama?"

Sanzo had no idea what he wanted to say. He was just trying to put some distance between them, mental if not physical. Layla took his hesitation for shyness and stroked his cheek with the backs of her fingers.

"Go on."

"The truth is...I can't think when you do that."

He expected her to stop, pull away, apologize. Instead, she laid her cool palm against his fevered cheek.

"The truth is," she murmured, "I can't think right now either."

Filled with wonder, tortured by desire, Sanzo touched his lips to hers. It was the softest, lightest, sweetest contact. Layla's arms slid up around his neck. Her lips caressed his, demanding more. Instinct guided him. Sanzo let just the tip of his tongue glide along the exquisite softness of her lips. When her lips parted, Sanzo pressed in, seeking her tongue with his. Layla moaned into his mouth. The vibration of her voice traveled down his spine to his groin, turning what had been a progressive arousal into solid stone, a marble hardness greater than he'd ever felt. Just when he'd made up his mind to taste her neck before he let her go, the all too familiar voice of Goku broke the spell.

"Sanzo! Where are you? Where's Layla?"

Sanzo ignored him, hoarding every second he could still enjoy with Layla before Goku found him.

"Sanzo! Hakkai said it's Layla's turn to cook dinner! I'm hungry!"

Layla was the first to break the kiss. Again she surprised Sanzo. No blush, no maidenly dissembling. She just looked up at him and smiled, stroking his cheek. Sanzo eased up onto his feet, careful to wait for his blood pressure to settle back into its usual rhythm. He held out both hands to Layla. She took them and he pulled her up.

"Sanzo-sama?"

"Hm?"

"Is it wrong, that I don't feel like I should apologize to you?"

What Sanzo wanted more than anything was to take Layla into his tent, lay her down on his bedroll and make love to her all night long. He wanted to take her virginity and, by doing so, give her his own. To lie there, buried in her warmth and softness, sheltered in her arms, hearing her sweet voice making all those sounds of pleasure... Of their own will, Sanzo's hands slid around Layla's waist. He held her and kissed her shining hair.

"Is it wrong for me to want to say 'thank you'?" he asked.

"I don't know."

"Neither do I. Let's go. If Goku doesn't get that dessert you promised him, we'll never hear the end of it."


	9. Chapter 9 Private Agendas

CHAPTER NINE Private Agendas

The last of the chores had been seen to. The four young men and their unexpected guest sat around the fire, each of them occupied with their own thoughts. Sanzo was pleased to discover Layla's talent for cooking was almost as strong as Hakkai's. For some reason the stew and dumplings she made tasted better to him than Hakkai's usual excellent fare. Sanzo told himself it couldn't be anything as ridiculous as the fact that Layla smiled while she worked, and that her smile grew even brighter when she brought Sanzo his meal. She made good on her promise to Goku, feeding him rice pudding sprinkled with nutmeg and some pink and yellow petals from wildflowers growing near their campsite.

"C'mon, Layla," Gojyo said. "I'm beat. Let's go see if we both fit in that tent."

Layla looked at him, then looked away. With a sigh, she stared down at her hands. Sanzo watched her. He could see the tension in her hands, the white knuckles and straining tendons.

"Layla?" Gojyo came around the fire toward her. "Come on, honey. You must be tired too. You worked really hard today."

"Perhaps Layla would prefer arrangements similar to last night." Sanzo stood, keeping his hands fisted inside his sleeves so he wouldn't give in to the need to draw his pistol or put his arm around Layla's shoulders. "Layla can stay in the big tent. Goku will sleep in the middle, and I'll take the other side."

Gojyo looked from Layla to Sanzo and back again. A scowl gathered between his crimson brows. "Y'know, Sanzo, this is getting to be a bad habit with you."

"What exactly is that supposed to mean?"

"Hey monkey," Gojyo said. "Don't you have a problem with this? Isn't it weird for High Priest Genjo Sanzo to have this slave girl crashing in his private sleeping area?"

Goku looked from Sanzo to Gojyo and back again. He shrugged. "Doesn't matter to me. Not as long as--" Goku caught himself.

"Say it," Gojyo said. "Whatever it is, just spit it out."

"Well, as long as she doesn't try to cuddle up to him or anything like that. You know how women are always looking at Sanzo. He hates that."

Hakkai turned away, hiding his laughter in another coughing fit. The look of disbelief on Gojyo's face was almost enough to wring a laugh out of Sanzo. Just as Gojyo opened his mouth, Sanzo cut him off.

"Hakkai. You won't mind sharing a tent with Gojyo, will you?"

Sanzo skewered Hakkai with a glare that made the converted youkai blush. Sanzo didn't want to know about it, didn't want it out in the open, but whatever perverted arrangement Goyjo and Hakkai had agreed upon would come in very handy for settling the matter of where Layla slept.

"Fine with me," Hakkai said with his customary cheer. "Gojyo?"

Sanzo watched Gojyo struggle between his desire for Layla, his need to defy Sanzo, and his growing awareness that he was being offered another option for gratifying his kinky needs. Inside his sleeve, Sanzo's fingers curled around the cold steel of his pistol. Sanzo forced himself to relax. Brandishing his gun just to impose his will on the sleeping arrangements would rouse Hakkai's suspicions at the very least. Worse, it would frighten Layla.

Gojyo shrugged and nodded. "Sure. No problem."

"That's settled." Sanzo flicked the end of his cigarette into the fire. As his hand dropped back to his side, he let his fingers brush against Layla's shoulder. "Why don't you go get your bedroll laid out and do whatever else you need to do?"

Layla stood up and walked over to Gojyo. She put her arms around his waist and rested her head against his chest. Gojyo's arms came around her even as he looked down at her with surprise.

"Thank you, Gojyo." Layla hugged him. "Thank you for understanding."

Gojyo smiled. He stroked her hair and planted a soft kiss on her forehead. "Sweet dreams, honey."

Layla ducked in through the flaps in the big tent. Sanzo held himself still, controlling the desperate need to follow her and take full advantage of what little privacy the tent provided.

"Goku!" he said. "You've got first watch." He glanced at Hakkai and Gojyo. "Damp the fire. The wind is picking up and we don't want embers blowing around and igniting the entire forest."

Gojyo heaved an exaggerated sigh. "Sheesh. You burn down one lousy inn and you never hear the end of it."

"Just get on with it!"

"Hey, Sanzo," Goku said. "Should I sit up in a tree, maybe? I could see better up there."

"Baka. You might see better, but your hearing will be thrown off by all the noise the leaves make when they rattle in the wind."

"Oh. Right." Goku's face scrunched up in thought. "So if I hear something, you want me to go chase it down?"

"No. I want you to stay right here and make sure nothing tries to attack us while we're sleeping."

"If we get any sleep," Gojyo said. "With the monkey boy on watch I'll be too nervous to close my eyes!"

"Shut up, you stupid kappa! If you're so smart, you take first watch!"

"Like hell," Gojyo replied. "Once you're asleep, the end of the world wouldn't wake you up! We'll never get you to take your turn if you don't take first watch!"

"Shut up, you idiots!" Sanzo pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. "If anything was after us, all it would have to do is follow the noise!" He stalked over to the big tent. "Layla? Are you settled in yet?"

"Yes, Sanzo-sama. You can come in now."

Sanzo started to push his way in through the tent flaps, the paused to kick off his sandals. He heard Gojyo make some comment to Hakkai in a voice that for Gojyo was far too quiet. Hakkai laughed, nodding. Sanzo looked back. Both of them were apparently good-looking enough to draw the attention of plenty of women wherever they stopped for the night. That they found each other attractive was one of the great mysteries of the cosmos, as far as Sanzo was concerned. Why would any man want another man, a big gangly hanyo or a human with enough youkai blood on his hands to turn youkai himself, when a girl like Layla was there to be desired?

Inside the tent the only illumination came from the firelight shining through the gaps in the tent flaps. Sanzo could see Layla's shadowy form lying on the far side of the tent, bundled up inside her sleeping bag and the blankets Gojyo had purchased for her. Sanzo untied his obi and let his kimono slide off his shoulders and down his arms. The sensation of taking his clothes off while Layla watched added fuel to the fire building inside him. He folded up the ivory silk and laid it aside, knowing he was a fool to create this situation, to deliberately expose himself to such intense temptation. He had to protect Layla from Gojyo. Sanzo knew only too well how easy it could be to fall for Gojyo's erotic powers. Gojyo could make a statue moan if he really put his mind to it. Layla was better off staying in Sanzo's tent.

As Sanzo laid out his own sleeping bag and blankets, Layla spoke, her voice soft and drowsy.

"Sanzo-sama? I thought you said Goku would sleep in the middle."

"The monkey tends to roll around when he sleeps. This way he'll bump into me and not you."

"Oh."

"And..." Sanzo punched his pillow, trying to make it comfortable. "If you need anything, I'll make a lot less noise getting it for you."

"If I need anything?" Layla yawned.

Sanzo shrugged, glad for the cover of darkness that hid the blush staining his cheeks. "Bad dreams, help finding the latrine, whatever."

"You're so kind, Sanzo-sama."

Sanzo held back a derisive snort. Like hell he was. He wanted to be close to Layla. He wanted Layla, period. He slipped into his bedroll and lay there, listening to the sounds of the forest at night, to the occasional movement from Goku outside as he kept watch, and to the regular rhythm of Layla's breathing. Less than an hour had passed when the other noises started, the sounds from Gojyo's tent that made Sanzo wish he had cotton wool or soft beeswax or something he could stuff into his ears. That way he could block out the moans and wet sounds and then the steady thumping of one hard-muscled body against another.

The night moved on and still Sanzo lay awake. Goku came into the tent and promptly fell over onto his bedroll, wiggling around until he was cocooned in his blankets. By the quiet, careful movements outside, Sanzo knew Hakkai had taken second watch. Good. Gojyo would sleep deeply after sating his lust, which would put him in a better temper in the morning. Sanzo sighed, leaning on one elbow and propping his head on his hand. The almost full moon shone down on their campsite, providing enough light to help his night vision see Layla sleeping. Her long hair lay loose around her face. The hand she'd tucked beneath her cheek had slipped free, resting palm up with her slender fingers slightly curled. Desire flared inside Sanzo. He wanted to kiss her palm, then each fingertip.

Layla stirred, frowning. She turned this way and that, trying to find some comfortable position. At last she made a soft sound of frustration and sat up, holding the blankets around her shoulders while she rubbed at her face.

"Layla," Sanzo murmured.

Her head turned. She squinted at him through the pearly darkness. "Sanzo-sama?"

"Can't sleep?" he asked.

She shook her head, making her hair swish across her shoulders and down her back. "I can't get comfortable."

"Are you warm enough?"

"Not really. I wish I had a decent pillow."

"Come here." Sanzo stretched out flat on his back and lifted up the side of his blankets and sleeping bag that faced Layla.

She stared at him. "Are -- are you sure, Sanzo-sama?"

"Hurry up. The heat will escape."

Layla scooted over, bringing her own bedroll up against the edge of his.

"Here." Sanzo patted his shoulder. "You can use me for a pillow."

Layla's fingertips touched his shoulder, tracing the edge of his black undershirt, moving along the expanse of bare skin, then stopping at the upper edge of his arm warmer. Sanzo curled the fingers of his free hand into a fist in Layla's sleeping bag, straining to keep from letting his arms close around her. She laid her cheek against his skin, but left the rest of her body a good two or three inches away from his.

"Layla," Sanzo growled. "When I said 'Come here,' I meant come here." He pulled her up against his side. "If we're going to keep you warmer, this is how it's done."

"Yes, Sanzo-sama."

Layla didn't resist when Sanzo took her wrist and laid her arm across his waist, nor when he combed his fingers through her silky hair and tucked her head under his chin. Her nightgown was made of thin cotton with long loose sleeves and a few large mother of pearl buttons down the front. Sanzo could feel the curves and angles of her body through the soft fabric. Knowing that only one layer of cloth now separated him from Layla's naked skin left Sanzo so hot and hungry he had to draw a slow, deep breath to cool the raging of his blood. He got her blankets and his layered together, then settled back, surprisingly content despite the nagging ache at his groin.

"Better?" he asked.

"Much. Thank you, Sanzo-sama."

"You make it sound like I'm being so selfless." He stroked her hair. "You're keeping me warm, too."

"Do you always wear so much when you sleep, Sanzo-sama?"

Coming from Layla it was an innocent question. Sanzo reminded himself of that before he answered.

"It's safer this way. If there's any trouble in the night, I don't have to waste time getting dressed."

"I see." Her thigh moved against his. "So this is what you wear under your priest robes. I wondered."

"Did you really."

"Oh! I mean – I thought -- "

The blush stinging Layla's cheeks was so intense Sanzo could feel the heat of it radiating from her skin.

"I'm sorry, Sanzo-sama. Maybe I should go back to sleeping over there."

When she started to move away from him, Sanzo locked his arms around her.

"You're not going anywhere."

"I just -- I can't imagine what you must think of me."

This was the moment to say something safe and wise and neutral, making it clear the circumstances were about sleeping comfortably and nothing else. Sanzo couldn't bring himself to spout such total bullshit. He turned his head to murmur against her hair.

"All I can think of right now is how much I want to kiss you."

Layla kept still and silent for several heartbeats. Then she reached up to stroke his cheek with soft fingertips. "Funny, isn't it, how much we think alike?"

The more Layla touched him, the more Sanzo's body awoke to needing that touch. He wanted to surrender himself to Layla's hands, to let her undress him and stroke every naked inch of his body. Sanzo turned onto his side toward her. Layla cuddled closer to him and nuzzled the skin just below his ear.

"You smell so good, Sanzo-sama. Incense and smoke and something else, a sweetness that makes me think of white flowers..."

Sanzo clenched his teeth against any sudden sound that would startle her. The blood pounded in all of his pulse points as he went from being just hard to being hard enough to drive nails through a plank. Layla's hand slid up his chest, up the other side of his neck and into his hair. Her mouth opened against his neck, the tip of her tongue painting a trail down to his collarbone.

"Mmmm. Your skin... You taste like silk washed in wine..."

Sanzo's control broke. His mouth captured hers, his tongue plunging between her lips to taste her, to explore her, to ravish her depths. Layla's arm tightened around his waist. The other hand combed through his hair, holding him closer as she did her best to match his passion with her own. The sheer pleasure of kissing her was like nothing Sanzo had known before, better than good tobacco, better than the best sake...

His hands slid down the smooth line of her back to her waist, then down farther to the firm curves of her bottom. Layla tore her mouth from his to gasp for breath. As she panted, Sanzo kissed the velvety column of her throat. Her pulse beat against his lips, a frantic rhythm that proclaimed the racing of her heart. Sanzo gripped her hips and held her tighter against his own body, pressing his hardness into her.

"Sanzo..."

Layla's breathless moan was music to his ears. Sanzo raised his head.

"Layla, I have to stop."

"I don't want you to stop."

"Believe me, I don't want to either." He forced himself to let go of her long enough to settle back against his pillow and cuddle her against his chest. "You deserve better than this, little dove. Better than a tent in the woods with the monkey not three feet away."

As if on cue, Goku rolled over and snorted, pawing at his face, then filled the tent with his droning snore. Sanzo cursed under his breath.

"If the idiot wasn't helping me prove my point, I'd think seriously about shooting him."

"But--" Layla's fingertips brushed across the front of Sanzo's jeans, making him clench his teeth against a strangled curse. "We can't leave you like this."

Sanzo caught her wrist and pinned it to the blankets beside her head. "Layla, please. Just be still."

Layla stared up at him. Her eyes gleamed brighter for a moment, then a tear spilled over and ran back into her hair.

"All right, Sanzo-sama. I understand." She wiped her sleeve across her eyes. "I just wish... Never mind."

"Tell me."

"I just wish you weren't a monk. Or a priest. Or anything else that keeps us from doing...more." She looked away. "I know that must be terrible of me, you being a Sanzo."

Sanzo kissed her forehead. "I wish I could give you all the pleasure your body wants."

Layla whispered something so softly Sanzo couldn't catch the words.

"What was that?"

Layla turned her face away. More tears slid down her cheeks. Her shoulders shook with the beginning of harsh sobs.

"Layla." Sanzo touched her chin and made her face him. "Tell me what you just said."

She closed her eyes. "It's not just my body that wants you."

Sanzo stared down at her. Surely she couldn't be saying... "What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean." She opened her eyes, those wild, beautiful, sea-colored eyes. "My heart, Sanzo-sama. My heart wants you as well."

Hearing that made Sanzo forget his nicotine craving, forget Goku and his snoring, forget everything but Layla. Sanzo gathered her to him, rocking her in his arms and pressing gentle kisses to her face and hair. She clung to him, shoulders hitching now and then as she wept against his chest. Finally the lateness of the hour and the warmth of their bodies huddled together let fatigue conquer them and they fell asleep in each other's arms.


	10. Chapter 10 Morning Hungers

CHAPTER TEN Morning Hungers

Sanzo woke when the morning sky was just light enough to allow him to see clearly inside the tent. He drifted, savoring the warmth of Layla in his arms in contrast to the chill morning air. Layla had turned over onto her side, cuddling close against Sanzo's chest so they were spooned together. Sanzo's cheek rested on the flung-out length of Layla's silken hair. The sweet curves of Layla's bottom nestled against his hips, pressing against the hard length of his arousal. Sanzo watched Layla sleep, pondering the strange feelings rising up inside him. He could get used to this, to waking up every morning to the sight of Layla's tumbled hair, flushed cheek, and the soft swell of her breasts beneath her nightgown. Better yet, no nightgown at all, just Layla in all her naked loveliness. A small smile tugged at his lips as he studied the precise color of her eyelashes, the shape of her lips, the texture of her skin.

Layla wanted him. She wanted not just his pretty face and the body that came with it. Her heart wanted him. Sanzo held onto Layla's words with even more determination than the arm he had wrapped around her waist. She had known his master, a greater Sanzo than he could ever be. That meant she was aware of his own limitations, of his imperfections, of his essential humanity. So many of the women and the men who wanted him saw nothing but the sutra, the crown, and the face of the man who now wore both. They understood nothing of his heart and cared even less. For them Sanzo was something to possess, to own and exploit however their stupid twisted desires demanded. But not Layla, she who had witnessed the glory of true enlightenment. She wanted him, Koryuu, now called Genjo Sanzo.

His fingertips traced the curve of her breast, exploring the tender underside of the roundness that filled his palm so well. The cloth of her nightgown was caught under her hip, leaving it drawn tight enough across her breasts to show Sanzo her nipples as they hardened. Layla sighed and stretched, arching her back and pushing her bottom against Sanzo's hips. Sanzo bit back a groan. He took advantage of her movement to give her breast a gentle squeeze. It roused a hunger in him, a need to kiss and lick at Layla's velvety skin before he closed his mouth over her nipple and suckled there. Layla turned over onto her back and opened her eyes, blinking up at Sanzo. She brushed her fingers through his shaggy bangs and down his cheek.

"Am I dreaming?"

Sanzo smiled, then pressed a soft kiss to her lips. Layla stroked his hair, holding him closer and answering his kiss. Temptation blazed inside Sanzo, igniting his blood and turning the ache at his groin to an urgent hunger. The delicious torture doubled when Layla began kissing Sanzo's neck, warm wet open-mouthed kisses that drove him insane with need.

"Layla..."

Sanzo sank his hand into her hair and pulled her head back, claiming her mouth in a kiss that left them both moaning and straining against each other.

"Stay here," he murmured. Before Layla could speak, he slid out from under the far side of the blankets and knelt beside Goku, laying one hand on the boy's shoulder and shaking him awake. "Goku! Wake up!"

Goku mumbled something and rolled away from Sanzo, hugging his pillow.

"Goku! Get up, you lazy ape." Sanzo leaned down to speak into Goku's ear, using his best persuasive tone. "You better get out there, Goku. Gojyo had morning watch, so he's going to be twice as hungry as usual. Are you going to let that kappa pervert eat all of your breakfast?"

Eyes still closed, Goku sat bolt upright, stuffed his feet into his boots, then struggled with the ties on the tent flaps until Sanzo reached past him to yank the knots free. Once the boy was gone, Sanzo secured the ties, then eased back under the blankets. The heat radiating from Layla's body was pure heaven. Sanzo kissed her forehead, then her cheek, then the tip of her nose.

Layla's eyes fluttered open. "Mmmm. Sanzo..."

Now it was Sanzo's turn to plant a trail of wet kisses down Layla's neck. The mother of pearl buttons on the front of her nightgown gave way beneath his agile fingers.

"What are you doing?" she whispered. "They'll hear us!"

Sanzo kissed her, his tongue thrusting into her mouth again and again. Layla moaned against his lips. Her thigh slid up along his. Sanzo pushed the thin cotton cloth off her shoulder and cupped his fingers around her breast, moving down to tease her nipple with soft little jabs of his tongue. Layla sucked in her breath. Before she could cry out, Sanzo captured her mouth with his. Eager to quicken the game and finish it before Goku barged in and ruined everything, Sanzo reached down and gathered the hem of Layla's nightgown into his fist, baring her legs to mid-thigh. Layla managed to break the kiss.

"What are you doing?"

Sanzo trailed his fingertips along the satiny skin of Layla's inner thigh. "I always pay my debts."

"Sanzo!"

He worked her into a frenzy that left her gasping and moaning in his arms. When the final fury struck her, Sanzo caught her cry of release in his mouth, trapping the sound of it within their kiss. He drank in the sight of Layla's sparkling eyes and rosy cheeks, her naked breasts rising and falling as her breathing slowed, and the rumpled tangle of her nightgown that bared more of her than it covered.

"Good morning," he murmured, brushing a kiss across Layla's lips.

"Sanzo-sama..." She touched one fingertip to his lips, tracing the shape of them. "Is it always like that?"

"That's only the beginning."

Wide-eyed, she tried to tug her nightgown back into its proper arrangement around her. "I can't imagine..."

"Can't you?" Sanzo caught her hand and moved it aside so he could plant one last kiss between her breasts. "I doubt I'll think of anything else all day." He stood up and hitched his jeans back into place. "Get dressed. We have to be on the road again soon."

Even after Sanzo finished dressing and left the tent, Layla stayed where she was, staring up at the canvas ceiling, too overwhelmed to move. Last night Sanzo had allowed her to...to touch him that way. And now this morning he had insisted on doing the same for her, bringing her to a peak of pleasure so intense it was almost frightening. Sanzo. Monk, high priest, guardian of the sutra his master Koumyo Sanzo had worn back in those distant days when Layla had met him. The thought of the elder Sanzo brought a stinging blush to her cheeks. What would that Sanzo say if he knew his disciple had shared his bedroll with her, arranging matters so he "saved" her from Gojyo's desire, only to fall to the same temptation?

Layla turned over and buried her face in her pillow. She didn't know what to feel. Should she be overjoyed that this Sanzo, Genjo Sanzo, wanted her enough to set aside all the rules of his spiritual discipline and make love to her? Or should she hate herself for being the instrument of such temptation, dragging a holy man from his path and tainting his karma with such self-indulgence? Sanzo was no common monk, no typical priest, and far from being anything like an ordinary man. He seemed quite content with what had happened between them. Perhaps the only thing to do was to keep following his instructions and hope he knew something she didn't, some higher law that made what they'd done together more than just a momentary breaking of all the rules.

She gave up the warmth of their shared bedroll and folded up all the blankets, separating them into their respective piles, then rolled up the sleeping bags and secured their ties. Using a little water from her canteen, she washed herself as best she could, then folded up the soiled nightgown so the dampness stayed inside the drier layers. It would have to be washed as soon as possible. Gojyo had bought two other dressed for her, a blue one and one made of wine-dark cloth, the embroidery on its yolk set with little mirrors. The blue one had embroidery as well, simple flowers stitched in yellow with green for the stems and leaves. She chose the blue dress and pulled it on over her head, then brushed out her hair and plaited it into its usual braid. Gojyo insisted on buying her some hair ties decorated with tiny wooden flowers painted bright yellow. She used one to tie off the top of the braid, and the other to tie off the bottom. The sight of the tiny flowers gave her a pang. Goyjo was so kind to her, yet she couldn't return that kindness in any but the most limited way. She sighed. Life kept getting more and more complicated.

"Layla!" Hakkai called. "Can you give me a hand with breakfast?"

"Coming!"

Layla tucked the last of her belongings into her travel bag and ducked out through the tent flaps. Gojyo was teasing Goku about something. Sanzo stood off to one side, smoking and looking at the sky. Hakkai stood by the fire, holding a frying pan over it that sizzled with several crisp rashers of bacon.

"Good morning," Layla said.

All heads but Sanzo's turned toward her. Gojyo's latest taunt fell apart halfway out of his mouth, leaving him staring at her with his jaw hanging open.

"What is it, Gojyo?" she asked. "Is something wrong?"

"Wrong? Hell no!" He came to her and took her hands int his, holding her arms out and making her twirl. "See? I knew you had to have this dress too!"

"Thank you, Gojyo." Layla bit her lip, guilt flooding her. "You were right about the hair ties. They're perfect."

Goku said nothing. He glanced from her to Sanzo and back again, his expression rather sullen. Hakkai looked up from his cooking to give her a bright smile.

"There you are! Did you sleep well?"

"Yes, thank you." Layla hurried forward, holding out one hand for the pan. "What would you like me to do?"

"These are ready. If you could put them on the plates?" Hakkai nodded toward the small folding camp table they used for eating, playing mah jong, charting their route, and whatever else came up.

"Of course."

Layla carefully got a grip on the cloth-wrapped handle of the frying pan just above Hakkai's hand, then took the spatula he offered her. Gojyo ambled over to her, swiping a slice of bacon from the pan.

"So," he said, chewing. "No bad dreams? Nothing kept you awake?"

The back of Layla's neck prickled. She glanced over her shoulder to see Sanzo facing them, shooting a glare at Goyjo that should have dropped him right where he stood.

"No," she said. "It was quite peaceful."

"Really?" Gojyo pulled a face of exaggerated astonishment. "Who'da thunk it? Sanzo snores like a congested bear."

"Sanzo does not snore."

Gojyo's grin suddenly faded. Too late Layla realized the trap she'd fallen into.

"Goku is the one who could rattle every window out of its frame."

"Hey!" Goku appeared at Layla's elbow. He snatched two slices of bacon out of the pan and crammed them into his mouth. "You should talk, kappa. When you're drunk, which is all the time, the noise you make is enough to start every dog in town howling!"

The swish of robes along with the sudden presence behind her told her Sanzo was about to enter the debate.

"Shut up, the two of you. And get your hands out of that bacon. At least let Layla put it on the plates."

Hakkai served bread and cheese along with the apparently constant supply of beer and tea. As soon as Gojyo and Goku had wolfed down their share, Sanzo put them to work breaking down the camp. Layla savored the warmth of the tea, holding her cup in both palms.

"Are you cold, Layla?" Hakkai asked.

"A little," she said. "I'm not used to being out in the weather like this."

"The day will turn hot enough soon," Sanzo said. "It always does."

His gruff tone made Layla feel like she should apologize for something. Hakkai began gathering up the dishes. Gojyo and Goku were busy arguing over how to bundle the tents back into their bags. Layla drank the last of her tea and started to turn in Hakkai's direction so she could help him with the washing up. Long fingers curled around her wrist. She glanced back to see Sanzo staring at her. His expression was still cold, but his fingertips glided up and down the tender skin on the inside of her wrist.

"You're so pretty," he murmured.

Layla blushed. She wanted to touch him, to kiss him, but she knew better than to do either in front of the others. She turned her hand so their fingers met.

"I should go help Hakkai."

Sanzo nodded, giving her hand a brief squeeze.

Soon everything was packed up. Layla looked around.

"Where is the Jeep?"

Hakkai smiled. "Hakuryuu! Come!"

From the branches of one of the nearby oaks a white shape emerged. Layla watched, eyes wide, as a small silver-white dragon soared into the air, circling briefly before coming to rest on Hakkai's outstretched arm.

"That—that's a dragon!"

Goyjo laughed. "He's that and a whole lot more."

Hakkai fed Hakuryuu some scraps from breakfast, stroking his narrow little head. "Brace yourself, Layla. This might come as a bit of a shock." He tossed the little dragon up into the air again. "Hakuryuu! Transform!"

The dragon turned a somersault, landed on the ground, then shimmered, its shape expanding. When the silvery glare cleared, the Jeep sat there, looking as plain and ordinary as it had the day before. Layla gaped at Hakkai.

"The dragon is the Jeep?

"Amazing, isn't it?"

"Now that we're done with today's magic trick," Sanzo drawled, "can we get this circus on the road?"

Layla stood there feeling more than a little awkward. It was time to face the moment she'd been dreading.

"Gojyo, may I sit on your lap again?"

For once Gojyo's good humor gave way to something darker. He glanced at Sanzo, then fired up a cigarette and blew smoke at the sky. "Aren't you afraid I'll do something disgusting and offensive?"

"That's a sure thing," Goku said.

Sanzo nodded. "You are something disgusting and offensive."

"Would you two please stop that?" Layla turned back to Gojyo. "I"m sorry, Gojyo. I realize the situation is complicated. I'd ask Hakkai, but he has to drive."

Gojyo snorted. "What makes you think you'd be any safer with Hakkai? The man has a taste for kink that makes even me blush."

Silence. Then Goku turned to Hakkai.

"What's 'kink'? Is it some kind of fruit? Is it good?"

Sanzo clapped one hand to his forehead. Hakkai turned pink, while Gojyo roared with laughter.

"Stupid monkey! You would think that!"

"Gojyo." Hakkai's tone stopped Gojyo's laughter cold. "I think that's enough. Let Layla sit on your lap while you behave yourself."

Gojyo had the grace to hang his head. "Sorry, 'Kai." He threw an arm around Layla's shoulders. "Y'know, I feel like I ought to be charging you a fee, some kind of rental for using this killer bod as furniture."

Layla sighed. "What's your price, Gojyo?"

"Watch it, kappa," Sanzo snapped.

"Oh, I think a kiss would be just fine."

"One kiss?"

"Just one."

"You don't mean just a kiss on the cheek, do you?"

Gojyo flashed her a sexy grin. "Come on, Layla. One kiss. Hakkai and Sanzo are standing by ready to throw me into the river if I try anything."

"I'm not dragging your worthless hanyo ass all the way to the river." Sanzo pulled out his pistol. "I'll just shoot you and leave you for the scavengers."

"Go oil your gun, you pissy monk." Gojyo held out his arms to Layla. "So? Do we have a deal?"

"You're a ruthless opportunist, you know that?"

"I prefer to think of myself as an expert in my field." His voice turned low and husky. "C'mere, baby. Your demon lover awaits."

Layla stuck her hand into the hip pocket of her dress and pulled out a bundle wrapped in blue tissue paper. She unfolded it, then held it out to Gojyo.

"What's that?" he asked.

"'The kisses of the snow angels.' White chocolate, shaved coconut, pistachio nuts, and a few other things. I bought some in the marketplace while Goku was getting all that taffy."

Hakkai chuckled. "She's got you, Gojyo."

"What?" Gojyo looked at him. "What?"

One corner of Sanzo's mouth quirked. "She's offering you a kiss, you moron. A candy kiss. That was the deal, right?"

Gojyo shook his head, scowling. "That's not what I meant!"

Layla put on a pout. "Oh, Gojyo, be a good sport. Yesterday I pushed Goku into the river. Today I tricked you into agreeing to a kiss without being really careful to say what kind."

"Who's next? Hakkai?"

"I don't think I could play one of my tricks on Hakkai. He's much too clever for that."

"Sanzo then."

"Oh, I could never do that. It's not right to mock the priesthood of a Sanzo with such frivolous jokes."

"Listen to her, kappa," Sanzo growled. "She makes more and more sense."

"Bah." Gojyo plucked one of the sticky little confections off the pile in Layla's hand. He popped it into his mouth and chewed. "Hm. Not bad." He gave her a wicked smile. "But I'm sure it can't taste anywhere near as good as you do."

"You'll never know, will you?" Sanzo snapped.

Gojyo put his head to one side and stared at Sanzo. "You're in a rotten mood this morning. Well," he added, "even worse than usual. Didn't sleep well? Don't tell me Layla snores as loud as Goku does."

"Would you just shut up?"

"Gojyo," Hakkai said. "Would you please go fill up the water canteens? Goku and I will finish loading Jeep."

"Sure." Gojyo picked up the canteens, but his crimson gaze was still fixed on Sanzo.

"Hakkai?" Layla held out the candy.

The green-eyed man shook his head. "No thank you. You might need to save what you have to pacify Gojyo later."

"I'll pacify him," Sanzo muttered. "One bullet in the right place will mean a lifetime of peace and quiet."

"Sanzo-sama," Layla chided. "You really should be nicer to Gojyo."

Sanzo glared at her over the burning end of his cigarette. "I can't imagine anything you could possibly say that would convince me of that."

Layla wandered closer to Sanzo and looked up at him from under her lashes. She spoke in a voice just above a whisper. "He did bring us together."

Sanzo stared down at her, aching to wrap his arms around her and kiss her senseless. Both Hakkai and Goku had their backs turned. Sanzo ran his thumb along the full curve of Layla's lower lip.

"Take a little walk with me?"

"Of course."

She followed him as he moved off into the trees. When Sanzo stopped, they were only a few yards from camp. The trees screened them from view. He pulled Layla into his arms and kissed her, devouring the softness of her lips. Layla's head fell back under the onslaught of his kiss. She clung to him until the need for air made her turn her head.

"Sanzo-sama?"

He pressed hot kisses on her neck. "What is it?"

"Since I'm sharing my secret hoard of candy this morning, I thought you might like some of this." Layla held out another small bundle, this one wrapped in pink tissue.

Sanzo shook his head. "No thank you. I don't care for sweets."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that." Layla pouted, prompting Sanzo to suck on her lower lip. She pulled back with a laugh. "This is my favorite kind of candy. Raspberry puree mixed into chocolate cream, which is then rolled up in a bittersweet chocolate coating."

"That sounds complicated for a piece of candy."

"It is." She held up the round ball of chocolate about half the size of a small hen's egg. "Won't you try it? It's the last one I have. The heat of the day will make it melt, and that will ruin it."

"Well then." Sanzo looked into those blue eyes, delighting in their wicked sparkle. "I can't take the whole thing. You'll have to share it with me."

Layla smiled. "I was hoping you'd say that." She put the piece of candy between her lips, then raised her chin. Sanzo tsked.

"You are a very naughty girl."

Layla smiled around the candy, her hands moving up Sanzo's arms to his shoulders, then up into his hair. She ran her fingers through the golden silk of it, pulling him down to her. Sanzo sank his teeth into the candy, a slow careful bite that brought his lips against hers. The chocolate was marvelous, the bittersweet blending with the milkier chocolate, set off by the rasperry flavoring. What made that sensation even more delicious was the way the chocolate cream coated their tongues and gave the kiss a new texture. Layla seemed determined to suck all the chocolate off his tongue, making the bulge in Sanzo's jeans strain against the zipper.

Sanzo reached up to pull one of her hands from his hair and guided it under the silken layers of his robes, pressing her palm against the rigid length of his desire. Layla rubbed the heel of her hand against him, making his knees go weak. If it wasn't for the problem of tell-tale grass stains, he'd take her down on mossy ground right where they stood. Then again, as strong as he was, he could just hold her up against the tree...

TBC


	11. Chapter 11 Broken Triangle

CHAPTER ELEVEN Broken Triangle

Branches cracked and leaves crunched off to their left. Gojyo's voice arrived just ahead of him.

"Dammit, Sanzo, where the hell are you? Hakkai says we're ready to go!"

Gojyo thrashed through the last of the undergrowth in his way just as Sanzo and Layla broke apart. All three stared at each other. Gojyo's shock gave way to cold resentment. Layla felt her heart constrict painfully at the sight of the anger and hurt in those crimson eyes.

"So," Gojyo said. "This is how it is."

Layla pulled free of Sanzo's embrace, wiping at the chocolate smeared around her lips. "Gojyo, please. I just--"

"Tell me one thing, Layla. What is it that keeps making you turn away from me?"

Before the naked pain in Gojyo's eyes and voice, Layla could think of nothing to say that wouldn't make it all so much worse.

"Leave her alone." Sanzo wiped the chocolate off his lips and licked at his fingers. That display wasn't lost on Gojyo.

"How can you possibly want him?" Gojyo jabbed one long forefinger at Sanzo. "He isn't supposed to want you, and he sure as hell isn't supposed to do anything about it!"

"Gojyo, please!" Layla made a helpless gesture with both hands, then buried her face in them and started to cry.

"Nice work, kappa," Sanzo said. "You made her cry again."

"Shut up, you pathetic excuse for a monk!" Gojyo snarled. "You're lucky I don't nail your hypocritical ass to that tree!"

"Will wonders never cease? The kappa knows a word like 'hypocritical.' But can he spell it?"

"Stop it!" Layla cried. "Stop it, both of you!"

Gojyo ran both hands back through the heavy weight of his long crimson hair. "Layla, just tell me. What is it about me that you cannot bring yourself to like?"

"Gojyo..." Layla held out one hand to him, trying to come up with the words that would answer him without causing him even more pain. "It's—it's the whole problem with the youkai. Everyone is so terrified now. Any hint of youkai is enough to scare us all half to death."

"Sorry." Gojyo shook his head. "Not getting the point."

"Try not to be any more dense than you already are, cockroach." Sanzo pushed away from the tree and put his arm around Layla. "Anybody with half a brain can take one look at you and know what you are. That's what she's talking about. You're a halfbreed. You're cursed."

Gojyo stood there, hands hanging at his sides. Those crimson eyes were wells of pain so deep Layla shuddered, afraid of falling into their depths and never coming up again.

"Layla?" That deep, strong, merry voice was broken now. "Is it true? Is that what's wrong?"

Fresh tears flooded Layla's eyes. "Forgive me, Gojyo. Please. Please. I was raised by people who had never met a man as good and sweet and kind and heroic as you are. If we had time, this would go away."

"But we don't." Gojyo's expression hardened. "So you found another shoulder to cry on, a human shoulder." He turned that scalding crimson glare on Sanzo. "Just your luck, hey priest? She needed somebody to save her from the big bad horny kappa. First you let her sleep in your room. Then you insisted on having her sleep in your tent." Those big hands tightened into fists. "Have you fucked her yet, Sanzo?

"Shut up!" Sanzo stepped forward, pushing Layla behind him. "Shut your filthy mouth, you youkai bastard!"

"You haven't, have you?" Gojyo sneered. "Figures. When it comes to using anything but your precious pistol, you really are nothing but a scared virgin."

"You stupid fucking cockroach. The one woman in all of our travels who wants me instead of you and you can't stand it, can you?"

"Y'know, the more I think about it, the more I'm guessing you can't be a virgin, not with that pretty face." Gojyo lit up a cigarette and blew two long, thin streams of smoke out his nostrils. "All those horny monks in that temple probably passed you around like the last cigarette in the pack."

With a bellow of pure rage Sanzo yanked his pistol out of his sleeve and leveled it at Gojyo. Layla screamed. She grabbed his arm and jerked it sideways, making his shot go wild.

"Stop it!" she shrieked. "Stop it stop it stop it stop it!"

"Shut up!" Sanzo snarled. He jerked free of her grip and shoved her out of reach, then turned to take aim at Gojyo again. "Kiss your insolent ass goodbye, you worthless fucking half-breed!"

Hakkai and Goku came running, arriving just in time to see Layla launch herself at Sanzo and tackle him around the waist, spoiling another shot as his gun hand jerked upward and the pistol fired into the treetops. Sanzo tore free of Layla's grasp. In the same motion he whirled around to strike Layla across the face with the back of his fist. The blow sent her staggering backward with enough force to slam her into the closest tree. Her eyes rolled up and she crumpled into a heap among the fallen leaves.

"Sanzo!" Hakkai shot him one disgusted glare before rushing to Layla's side.

"You prick!" Gojyo charged Sanzo, moving with such furious speed he knocked Sanzo's gun hand aside before Sanzo could take aim again. Gojyo seized Sanzo by the front of his robes and jerked him up into the air, leaving his feet dangling. "You absolute bastard! Look what you've done to Layla!"

"Put me down."

"I'll put you down, you fucking waste of breath. I'll put you down so hard you'll bounce!"

Something hit Gojyo across the back of the head with enough force to stun him. His grip on Sanzo loosened, letting Sanzo land on his feet. With one hand to the lump rising on his skull, Gojyo turned a wobbly circle to see Goku standing there, his nyoi-bo in hand.

"Back off, kappa!" Goku snapped. "You touch Sanzo again and I'll thrash your stupid halfbreed ass!"

"Wrong thing to say, monkey boy."

Gojyo buried one fist in the cloth of Goku's shirt, then snatched him up and sent him flying. He heard a familiar click beside his ear just before Sanzo jammed the muzzle of his pistol into his neck.

"You're dead, kappa. This time I mean it. This time I really am going to blow your fucking head off."

A scream tore through the air, going on and on, making all four men wince and duck. The pain in it, the anguish and the rage and the helplessness, made Gojyo curse and drop to his knees with his hands clapped over his ears.

"Sanzo!" Hakkai yelled. "Sanzo! Layla's having some kind of fit!"

Layla was on her knees, head hanging down, her long hair streaming loose and tangled with bits of leaves and twigs. The face she raised to Gojyo turned his blood to ice. Her eyes were still rolled back in her head, showing only the whites. Her mouth hung open. Out of it came that unearthly screeching. Sanzo stuffed his gun back into his sleeve and ran over to take her by the shoulders.

"Layla? Layla! Stop this! Get a grip on yourself!"

She went on howling, beating her fists in the dirt. Sanzo looked at Hakkai.

"Can't you do anything?"

Hakkai shook his head. "I'm afraid to knock her out without knowing more about why this is happening."

Gojyo pushed past Sanzo to kneel behind Layla and put his arms around her. He held her, rocking her, petting her wild hair.

"Help!" she screamed. "Help me! Daddy! Mama! Make it stop! Make it stop!"

"Hush now, baby," Gojyo crooned. "Don't you worry. We're here, we're warm and dry, everything's all right."

"No more..." Layla's eyelids flickered down. The howling subsided into broken wails of grief. Gojyo kept petting Layla and talking to her. At last Layla sagged back against Gojyo.

"Please," she said. "No more. Sell me if you like. I don't care! Just stop hurting each other!"

Gojyo looked at Hakkai, who shrugged.

"Layla," Gojyo said. "We don't want to sell you."

"I told you! My family will pay you a fortune! Just take me to them and don't—" Her voice broke. "--Don't hurt me. Please. Not like that!"

"Flashback," Sanzo said. "She thinks she's still with the bandits." He took a step toward her, one hand reaching out.

"Fuck off, Sanzo," Goyjo snarled. "You and your fucking dojo-trained reflexes! You hit her hard enough to knock her mind back into last week!"

"Then that makes me the one who's responsible for repairing the damage." Sanzo glanced back at Hakkai. "Get a blanket."

Hakkai fetched one from the gear piled next to Jeep. Sanzo shook it out and spread it on the ground beside Layla.

"Put her down, kappa."

"What are you going to do?"

"Just shut up and do as you're told! The longer she stays like this, the harder it will be to bring her back!"

Keeping his venomous glare on Sanzo, Gojyo gently herded Layla onto the blanket and pressed down on her shoulders until she laid back. Her fists were clenched and she was shaking all over. Sanzo stretched out beside Layla and lifted up one end of the sutra where it hung down over his shoulder, laying it across Layla's forehead. Sanzo lay back, closed his eyes, pressed his hands together, and began to chant.

Tiny dust devils whirled into being around them all, making the twigs and leaves jump and dance. Gojyo felt a tugging inside his mind, a shuffling as bad memories surfaced. His stepmother with the ax. Bad nights on the streets when he was so hungry he'd do things he never wanted to think about again. The night he got too drunk and picked the wrong girl to go home with, walking into an ambush that almost cost him his eyes. Gojyo looked over at Hakkai, who had already turned his back, his hands over his ears. Gojyo jumped up and backed away, out of the reach of the sutra's magic. The uproar in his mind settled down.

The tension drained out of Layla's body. Her breathing settled into a regular rhythm. Gojyo thought she might have been asleep, until she reached up to touch the sutra where it lay across her forehead, covering her eyes.

"It's all right, Sanzo-sama. I'm all right now."


	12. Chapter 12 Unbearable Truth

CHAPTER TWELVE Unbearable Truth

Sanzo stopped chanting and sat up, rearranging the sutra across his shoulders. He got to his feet and held out his hand to Layla. She lay there, eyes shut tight, rubbing at her temples.

"Sweet mother of mercy," she muttered. "Now I understand what people mean when they say they need a drink."

Sanzo bent down to curl his fingers around her wrists. "You're in luck. I think I still have one bottle of decent sake tucked away."

Layla jerked her wrists free. "No thank you, Sanzo-sama." She kept her eyes shut and turned her face away from him. "I don't think it's a good idea to accept a drink from the same hand that struck me down."

"You tell him, honey!" Gojyo said. "Knock him right off that high and mighty pedestal he likes to stand on!"

"_You!_" Layla scrambled to her feet and pushed past Sanzo, marching up to Gojyo and jabbing him in the chest with her forefinger. "Just because I offended you with my narrow-minded racist upbringing, that didn't give you any right to say such horrible, _filthy_ things to Sanzo-sama!"

"Oh yes. I still have to kill him for that." Sanzo stuck his hand into his sleeve, brought out the pistol, and thumbed the hammer back. "Layla. Once again, you are standing between me and my target. Move."

"As for _you_..." Layla marched right up to Sanzo, shoved his pistol hand aside and glared up into his eyes. "_You_ had _no right_ to say such horrid things to Gojyo when I was doing my best to answer him as gently as I could!"

Sanzo stepped back and held the pistol straight out from his shoulder, the muzzle centered between Layla's eyes. "No half-crazed slave girl has any right to hold me back when I'm about to kill that bastard kappa for daring to slander the monks of my home temple!"

Layla held his glare for a long moment, then her shoulders sagged. "How sad, Sanzo-sama. Your pride really is worth more to you than anything else."

She walked back to Gojyo. "Could you kneel down for a minute, please?"

"Sure."

Gojyo did as she asked. Layla stood right in front of him, facing Sanzo, blocking him completely from Sanzo's shot. The sight of that made Sanzo even more determined to finally wipe Gojyo off the face of the earth.

"Shoot, Sanzo-sama. But this time, shoot twice."

"I'm not joking, Layla." Sanzo raised the pistol and sighted down it, centering the sight between those beautiful eyes. "I will shoot you."

"I know that. And, knowing that, I'd rather die for Gojyo than live for you."

Sanzo stared at her. His heart lurched, every beat forcing his veins to carry not blood but broken glass. "I just saved you from some kind of seizure, and you dare speak to me this way?"

"Who will Heaven favor, Sanzo-sama? You, for murdering a man over mere words, or me, for giving up the life that man saved so that I may at least try to save his?"

The sun had shifted overhead. Sunlight speared down through the treetops. Golden light seemed to blaze around Layla. For a moment Sanzo thought he glimpsed the golden crown worn by Sanzo priests. His master's face, his head leaning back against the trunk of the tree where he sat, surrounded by little children whose hands were full of paper airplanes...

A cry of agony tore itself out of Sanzo's throat. He flung away the pistol and clutched at his head, then whirled and rushed off into the forest.

Gojyo got to his feet. "Thank you, Layla." He put his hands on Layla's shoulders. "No one has stood up for me like that since--" His voice broke. "Since that night my brother saved me."

Layla turned and wrapped her arms tight around his waist. "I'm sorry, Gojyo. I'm so sorry. You're the last person in the world I'd want to hurt."

"Hey, hey." He stroked her hair, smiling down at the top of her head. "Since you just saved my life three times in the last half an hour, I'd say we're even."

"Are we?"

Gojyo kissed her hair, then rested his chin on the top of her head while he held her. Layla had spoken hard words to Sanzo with pity in her voice. Pity. Sanzo hated that more than anything else. And then she'd told Sanzo she'd rather die for Gojyo than live for him. Knowing she really did mean every word of it wiped out all the pain of hearing Layla admitted his cursed coloring kept her from letting Gojyo get any closer to her. What had hurt more than seeing her kissing Sanzo was the thought that she might actually look down on him the same way Sanzo did. She didn't see him as a Child of Taboo now, not really. If that wasn't a big enough thrill, Layla saw him as a better man than Sanzo. She'd even said so, right to Sanzo's face!

Hakkai shook the leaves from the blanket and folded it up. "Perhaps we should go back to Jeep and wait for Sanzo there. I'm sure he'll be eager to get on the road again once he's had a little time to himself." He glanced around. "I do hope we can find his pistol. He needs that, for more than just his transitional object."

"His what?" Gojyo said.

"Never mind."

Staring at the ground, Hakkai moved forward in the same direction that Sanzo had thrown his pistol. Gojyo kept his arm around Layla's shoulders as they started back toward Jeep. Goku stood in their path, his fists clenched, glaring at Layla.

"What's your problem, chimp?" Gojyo asked.

Goku took a step toward Layla. "What did you do to Sanzo?"

"Goku--" Hakkai began.

"_What did you do to Sanzo?_" Goku roared.

Layla shied back against Gojyo.

"You say these freaky things to him and he turns all white and sick-looking." Goku's golden eyes blazed. "Stop it. I mean it. Stop making Sanzo sick!"

"I'm sorry, Goku. I promise you that for the next two days I will say as little to Sanzo-sama as I possibly can."

Goku didn't look convinced. "No more sleeping in our tent. No more staying in our room. You just keep away from Sanzo. You make him think about his master, and that always makes him sad."

Layla nodded. "You're right, Goku. I should stay away from Sanzo-sama. I'll do as you say."

Goku nodded. He jogged past Hakkai, bent to thrust his hand into a pile of leaves like all the others, and pulled out Sanzo's pistol. He ran off after Sanzo, calling his name. Hakkai and Gojyo led Layla back to Jeep. Hakkai took his place behind the wheel. For a while only birdsong and the rush of the wind through the upper branches broke the stillness.

"How long should we wait?" Gojyo asked.

"Goku found the pistol without even trying," Hakkai said. "No matter where Sanzo's hiding, Goku will find him with even less effort. It shouldn't be long now."

Gojyo threw himself into the back seat. "Come on, Layla. Come sit on Big Brother Goyjo's lap."

Once Layla got herself arranged on Gojyo's lap, she reached up to draw a length of his hair through her fingers, looking him in the eye. Gojyo stared back, saying nothing, waiting for Layla to make up her mind about whatever she was thinking. Layla leaned forward and pressed her lips to his. It was a brief kiss, but sincere.

"You're amazingly handsome," Layla whispered. "You know that, don't you? So tall and strong, with that wicked smile and all this long hair..."

Gojyo touched trembling fingertips to the softness of her cheek. "So you would want me, if you could?"

Layla rested her head on Gojyo's shoulder, nodding against the warmth of his skin. "There will come a day when I kick myself for being too stupid to grab you when I had the chance."

"Well!" Hakkai looked up at the sky. "I think we've waited long enough." He turned on the ignition, then honked twice to signal departure time.

Less than a minute later Goku appeared at the far edge of the forest, leading Sanzo by the hand.

"Oh shit," Gojyo muttered. "Hey, 'Kai? Look."

Hakkai turned around in his seat and followed Gojyo's pointing finger. He sighed, shaking his head.

"What is it?" Layla asked.

"You know how to hit Sanzo where he lives, that's for damn sure. He must be in bad shape to let the monkey boy lead him around like that."

Muttering to himself, Sanzo took his usual place in the front passenger seat and lit a new cigarette. Goku hopped into the back, shot Layla one cold glare, then folded his arms over his chest and stared straight at the back of Sanzo's head.

Layla's face twisted with a spasm of grief. Gojyo wrapped one arm around her. He threaded his fingers through her long hair, combing it over and over again until she fell into an uneasy doze.


	13. Chapter 13 Cold Pursuit

CHAPTER THIRTEEN Cold Pursuit

The hours on the road passed in tense silence. Sanzo smoked one cigarette after another. Goku sat rigid and angry, not even complaining when the noise of his stomach growling could be heard over Jeep's engine. Hakkai as usual said nothing. Gojyo was content to keep quiet. He had more than enough to think about.

Sanzo had blown it with Layla, blown it so badly he'd never make up for what he'd lost. All because he was so determined to shoot Gojyo for that crack about the monks at his home temple sharing little Kouryuu. Gojyo wondered how close to the truth he'd managed to strike. Such a thing wasn't unheard of among monks, but given the way Sanzo idolized his master, Gojyo figured the elder Sanzo would have protected his little disciple from that sort of thing. And then there was that whole weird scene with the crazy monk Rikudo who had once been Shuei...

Gojyo shook his head. It was all too much to figure out. Layla was back in his arms, and even if she wasn't willing to let him give her all the kinds of comfort he had to offer, at least the two of them were OK with each other again. That plus Goku's little hissy fit pretty much guaranteed Layla would be spending the coming night in Gojyo's tent. Hakkai wouldn't be overjoyed about that, but he couldn't expect Gojyo to make Layla sleep outside while they kept up their usual arrangements...

Hakkai pulled over. He stared up at the sky, turning his head from side to side.

"Trouble?" Gojyo asked.

"When we stop, it stops. Something's pacing us. Probably waiting until after nightfall to attack."

"Swell."

"Sanzo?" Hakkai looked over at the monk, who appeared to be asleep.

"Hey, Blondie!" Gojyo yelled. "Wake up and smell the youkai!"

Sanzo raised his head. "Hakkai. How far away are they?" His voice was a harsh whisper.

"Hard to say. If they were closer than a mile, we should be able to spot them. Call it three at most."

"Keep driving. Anything like a town anywhere nearby?"

"The map doesn't show anything, but you never know."

"Keep your eyes open for any kind of structure. We can't let them come on us out in the open."

"Sanzo?" Goku leaned forward. "Are you OK? Are you feeling any better?"

"No. Now shut up and let me sleep."

With that Sanzo sank back into his dozing posture. Goku sat back, looking fretful. He shot Layla another glare.

"Great. More youkai to fight and we've got her to worry about."

"Shut up, monkey," Gojyo snapped. "I'll take care of Layla. You just keep an eye on your precious priest."

Nightfall was fast approaching. Layla dreaded the coming of darkness. Even if whatever Hakkai sensed following them didn't reveal itself, there was still the messy business of where she'd sleep tonight to be gotten through. The road had brought them to an area of low hills dotted by clumps of boulders. There was no real shelter, but some of the boulders were tall enough to block the force of the wind whipping across the open spaces. Even though the day was still warm, Layla shivered, huddling close against Gojyo. Hakkai pulled over and looked at Sanzo, who still appeared to be dozing.

"Sanzo?" Hakkai said. "We need to make a decision about camping now or driving on until we lose the light."

"Are they any closer?"

"I'm not sure. Sometimes the presence is very strong, then the next time I look for it, it's very faint."

"They're moving around." Sanzo lit a cigarette and sat smoking and staring the clumps of boulders stretching out across the rolling landscape ahead of them. "Gojyo. Goku. Go find some rocks that give us cover on at least three sides."

Goku sprang out of Jeep, giving Layla room to move over so Gojyo could climb out as well. He turned back to give her a quick, reassuring peck on the cheek. Layla wrapped her arms around herself, brought her knees up and tucked her feet to one side on the seat, making herself as small as possible. Hakkai looked back at her, wearing one of those thin, meaningless smiles he could put on and take off as easily as the monocle he wore. Sanzo sat there smoking while he watched Goku and Gojyo roam around the rock formations. The wind hissed and moaned as it picked up speed with the coming of night. Layla shivered again, wishing for the jacket that was buried in her traveling bag.

Goku appeared on the top of one taller rock. "Here, Sanzo! This is a good place!"

As if that was some signal, the youkai appeared, popping up from their hiding places among the rocks. Four on the left, six on the right.

"Shit." Sanzo threw aside his cigarette and pulled out his pistol, hiking up the skirts of his robes as he got out of the Jeep. "Watch your backs! They could be hiding everywhere!"

Hakkai climbed out of the Jeep and held out his hands to Layla. "Hurry now. We can't risk having them damage Jeep."

Layla stood up, her cramped muscles protesting, making her move too slowly. Hakkai caught her around the waist and lifted her bodily out of the Jeep. Layla had to hold back a cry of surprise. She wouldn't have thought the thin, quiet man was so strong.

"Hakuryuu!" Hakkai yelled. "Transform! Fly!"

The Jeep shimmered, imploding into the form of the little white dragon.

"Kyuu!" Hakuryuu spread his wings and soared into the sky.

Sanzo fired four rounds, taking out two of the youkai nearest them. The noise of the gunshots made Layla scream, clapping her hands over her ears. While she watched, both Gojyo and Goku fought the youkai with weapons that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. Gojyo's staff with its sickle shaped blade sliced through one youkai, then another. Sanzo had been right. More youkai kept coming, pouring out of a larger group of rocks up ahead. Goku hooted and laughed, pounding the daylights out of every youkai he chased down.

"Stay close now." Hakkai held out his hands. Light gathered between them into a ball that shimmered and crackled like tame lightning.

Two youkai charged them, shrieking and slavering. Hakkai hefted the ball of light and flung it at them, knocking them flat.

Layla's head ached. Her throat was raw from screaming. It was all too much, too much like the bandits with their horrible laughter as they cut down the guards and the pages and even the two old men who still served as grooms. The smell of blood, of death, of all the things inside a body that should never see the light of day... Layla dug her fingers into her hair at her temples, trying to stop the whirling, flickering images in her head. Hakkai tugged at her arm, making her run with him. Something hard pressed against her back. She slid down, crouching at the base of one of the boulders, still holding her head, grinding the heels of her hands against her temples to keep all the madness and the grief and the rage inside. The rage, that terrible fury, the need to kill and kill and kill...

Chanting cut through the madness gathering in her mind. Sanzo's voice, chanting the sutra. Layla opened her eyes to see Sanzo standing at the center of a mass of spiraling lengths of scroll. They had wrapped themselves around one large youkai, who screamed and struggled in the grip of the sutra until he vanished in a blast of light. Sanzo stopped chanting. The sutra shrank back to its normal size, hanging across his shoulders. Sanzo stumbled backward, fetching up against another boulder not two yards from where Layla crouched. He pulled out his pistol and snapped open the chamber, shaking out the empty shells. He pulled a handful of fresh bullets from his sleeve and began inserting them into the chambers. He made it as far as three when another youkai appeared on top of the stone Layla leaned on, mere inches above her head. With a shriek the youkai threw himself on Sanzo, slamming him against the side of the boulder. Layla winced at the sound of Sanzo's head cracking against stone. His eyes rolled back, his body went limp, and the pistol fell from his grasp.

"Sanzo!" Layla cried.

The youkai threw Sanzo flat on his back and sat across Sanzo's belly, laughing. The monster had shaggy green hair and a mouthful of fangs. He ran its claws through Sanzo's golden hair, trailing one claw down his cheek.

"Ho ho, it's priest meat for me! Hey, you bastards! Look at me! I get to live forever!"

The youkai pressed harder, drawing a line of blood down Sanzo's cheek. He licked his claw, smacking his lips with gusto. Inside Layla, something shattered.

Move forward. Pick up pistol. Close chamber. Pull back hammer. Press muzzle to back of youkai's head. Pull trigger.

The youkai exploded in another blast of light. The pistol's recoil slammed it back into Layla's belly, making her double over and grunt with the pain. She dropped to her knees beside Sanzo, holding the pistol in both hands. Another youkai approached, this one more cautious. Layla watched its muddy eyes, eyes that looked past her. Its lips twitched with new confidence. Layla waited, holding her breath, straining her ears. When a clawed hand grabbed fistful of her hair and jerked her head back, she bent backward, jamming the pistol under the youkai's jaw.

Click.

She pulled the trigger again.

Click.

Again.

The youkai exploded. The recoil from the pistol slammed it into her forehead, leaving her dizzy and weak. A filthy bare foot with clawed nails kicked her in the throat, knocking her over and leaving her choking while she gasped for air.

"Stay down, bitch," the youkai snarled. "Once I'm done with the priest, we'll _all_ have plenty of time for _you_!"

Echoes. Echoes of the bandit leader. Echoes of the pain, the fear, the blood. The killing rage poured through Layla, burning churning blazing screaming _rage_. Now Layla welcomed it, the way it put strength in her shaking legs and steel in her spine. The youkai bent over Sanzo, running its filthy hands up and down Sanzo's arms, over the black leather of Sanzo's arm warmers. Layla tapped the youkai on the shoulder. When he turned on her, she backhanded him with the pistol. Blood gushed from his broken nose, splattering her hands and skirt. Layla stared at the blood. Her whole world turned red. She threw her head back, screaming at the sky. The pistol blew the youkai away.

Click. Click. Click.

Bullets. More. Somewhere.

Layla knelt beside Sanzo and stuck her hand inside his sleeve. Her fingers closed on several round, hard shapes. She pulled her hand out of Sanzo's sleeve and raised the pistol. A hand clad partly in black leather shot up to catch her wrist.

"Enough, Layla." Sanzo's voice. "You've done enough."

The screaming in her head faded. The red mist gave way to the real colors around her. Sanzo knelt before her, holding her wrists. His golden blonde hair was mussed. His robes were filthy. His cheek still bled from the youkai's claw. Layla ducked her head in shame.

"Forgive me, Sanzo-sama. I didn't kill that one fast enough."

Sanzo stared into her eyes, the violet depths of his calling to her, giving her somewhere to hide. Tears welled up in her eyes.

"Goku said I can't talk to you anymore, Sanzo-sama. He said I make you sick, and sad." The tears overflowed, streaming down her cheeks. "I was so happy to meet another Sanzo, and now I've ruined everything..."

"Stop that!" Sanzo shook her.

"They wanted to _eat_ you," Layla whispered. "I had to kill them. Had to. Had to stop them."

"Layla." Sanzo smoothed her wild, tangled hair back from her face. "You need to rest now. Do you hear me? It's time for you to rest."

The last of the madness slid away from her, obeying Sanzo's command. Layla's eyelids grew heavy. She sagged against Sanzo's shoulder. Sanzo's lips touched the place on her forehead that still hurt from the pistol's recoil. With his kiss came a cool, sweet peace. Layla closed her eyes and slept.


	14. Chapter 14 Drunken Revelations

CHAPTER FOURTEEN Drunken Revelations

When Layla opened her eyes again, she lay in darkness. Her cheek rested against soft, smooth cotton. A blanket covered her. She sensed a limit to the darkness above her. Turning her head slightly, she saw the flickering flames of a campfire through a gap in the doorway. One by one her impressions fitted themselves together. Campfire. Tent. Voices outside. She wasn't in the box the bandits kept her in. She moved her arms, feeling nothing but empty space around her. That was wrong too. The slavers made sure she stayed bound hand and foot with a noose around her neck that led to a stake hammered into the dirt. Where was she? Someone should be here, lying beside her. Memories of morning came back to her, and with them the afternoon.

Then it all came flooding back.

"_Sanzo!_" Layla kicked free of the blanket and scrambled up onto her knees, fighting through the tent flaps to stagger upright. "_Sanzo!_"

"I'm here, Layla." Sanzo moved into the circle of light thrown by the fire.

"Sanzo..." Layla ran to him and wrapped her arms around him, holding on tight enough to squeeze out a sharp curse.

"Hey!" Sanzo gripped her wrists, prying her arms away from his waist and holding her at arm's length. "The youkai didn't break any ribs, but you might!"

"Sanzo." It was all she could say. He was alive. Not eaten. Not dead.

Hakkai bent over the cookpot, stirring its contents. Goku stood beside him, holding a bowl of greens. Gojyo sat nearby, smoking and taking sips from a can of beer. All three were looking at her. Gojyo threw his cigarette into the fire and stood.

"Hey, honey. How are you feeling?"

Layla looked up into those crimson eyes. Not youkai. Half-youkai, but not the bad kind. She shook her head, trying to get past the lingering fear and the instinct to fight.

"Not too good, huh?" Gojyo asked. "Come sit here, out of the wind."

Sanzo let go of Layla's wrists. She reached out and caught his right hand between hers, clinging to it.

"Go on." With his free hand Sanzo pushed at her. "Go sit with Gojyo."

Layla shook her head, clutching his sleeve in a white-knuckled grip. Sanzo didn't want her. She knew that. She could understand why. But she still couldn't let go. Younger, smaller hands covered hers.

"Layla." Goku gently tugged at her wrists. "It's OK. I'll watch Sanzo now. You took your turn, now it's mine."

Layla looked at him, into those big golden eyes. Goku nodded, smiling.

"It's OK now. I'm not mad at you anymore. I saw what you did for Sanzo today, the way you kept those youkai from hurting him." He grinned. "I didn't know a girl could fight like that! Every time they knocked you down, you just got up again! You were trying to get more bullets out of Sanzo's sleeve, weren't you?"

Layla nodded, then turned her head away to hide her face against Sanzo's shoulder. She didn't want to think about it, about those moments when she'd let the monster inside her have total control.

"I know how you feel," Goku said. "So many times, it's been so close. I can't stand it. I feel like I have to be right next to Sanzo, right beside him every second." Goku tugged at her hands again. "Do what Sanzo said. Go sit with Gojyo. He'll take care of you and I'll take care of Sanzo."

Layla looked up at Sanzo. Those amethyst eyes were so cold. Sanzo was leaning away from her. He didn't want her touching him. He didn't want her, period.

"Goku's right," Sanzo said. "Now go sit with Gojyo."

Slowly, reluctantly, Layla allowed Goku to pull her hands away from Sanzo. Gojyo was right there waiting for her, wrapping her in his arms and pressing a kiss to her hair. He led her back to his spot by the fire and sat down, getting her settled on his lap. Layla leaned against him, but her eyes followed Sanzo's every movement. Sanzo stared back at her, his mouth set into a frown.

"Goku," Sanzo said. "Bring me the sake."

"Sure thing, Sanzo." Goku ducked into the tent and came back carrying a sealed flask of sake and two cups. "Here you go."

"Hakkai." Sanzo held up the flask. "What do you think? Hot or cold?"

Hakkai turned away from the cookpot to come and crouch down before Layla. With gentle fingers he held her wrist just at the pulse point. Then he touched her chin, trying to make her raise her head. Layla turned her face away, letting the curtain of her long hair swing down to hide her face.

"Layla," Sanzo said. "Let Hakkai look at you. I just want to make sure you weren't hurt more seriously than we realize."

Layla turned back toward Hakkai. Hakkai stared into her eyes, then held up one finger.

"Watch this. Don't look at me."

He moved his finger back and forth, up, down, and around in a circle. Layla tracked its movement. Hakkai sat back, nodding to himself.

"Nothing more than shock, along with further emotional and physical strain on top of her original trauma." He pursed his lips. "Hot, I think."

Hakkai fetched another pot, filled it with water from the water bucket, then hung it from another hook on the tripod set up over the fire. After a few minutes, Hakkai wrapped a cloth around the pot's wooden handle and brought over to Sanzo, who set the sake flask in the hot water. Soon it was ready to be poured. Sanzo himself did the honors, filling one of the tiny sake cups and offering it to Layla.

"Here," he said. "This will help."

Layla stared into the clear depths of the sake, breathing in the fragrant steam that rose into the night air. She didn't want any. All she wanted was to hold on to Sanzo.

"Layla." A stern note entered Sanzo's voice. "If you're strong enough to kill three youkai all by yourself, then you're strong enough to snap out of this daze and get on with life."

"Hey!" Gojyo's arms tightened around Layla. "Get off her case, monk!"

"Stop it!" The words burst out of her. She broke free of Gojyo's grip and drove herself up onto her feet, stumbling away from them until she stood at the very edge of the ring of firelight. "How can you fight over me like this? How can you even want me, now that you know what I am?" Her voice had risen to a shriek.

Sanzo stared at her, watching her. Gojyo stood up and started toward her. Hakkai stepped into his path, halting him with one hand against his chest.

"We've known all along, Layla," Hakkai said. "It's obvious, to people like us."

"You _knew_?" Her face twisted with grief. "Then how could you? How could you treat me like I'm just some pretty girl who needed to be rescued?"

"Hakkai," Sanzo said. "What are you doing?"

"Just be quiet, Sanzo. I know a great deal more about madness than you ever will." Hakkai took one careful step toward her. "Look at us, Layla. Don't you think we understand? None of us has a home to go back to. None of us has family who would welcome us even if we could go back."

Layla shook her head. "You couldn't possibly understand. You most of all, Hakkai. You're so kind, so gentle..."

Hakkai's harsh bark of laughter made them all jump. He took off his monocle, turning it over and over in his fingers. "You think so? I'm on this journey because I'm doing my penance, Layla. With my own two hands and a sword I murdered a thousand youkai. Men, women, children, babies. I gutted them like fish. I laughed while they

bled to death."

Layla's eyes opened wide. She clapped one hand to her mouth, then jerked it away. "Why?"

"Because they took from me the only woman I have ever loved. Took her and gave her up to a monster who raped her and filled her belly with his filthy seed."

"Hakkai--" Gojyo started forward, one hand outstretched.

Hakkai stopped him with a glare. "Let me finish!" He turned back to Layla. "And then, just when I'd found her, just when I thought I could breathe again, she took my sword from my hand and drove it into her belly, killing the demon seed and herself with it." Hakkai put his monocle back on. "So you see, I do understand how you feel. No family, no home, and now a crime you can't live with staining your hands and your heart."

Only the wind and the crackling of the fire filled the silence. At last Layla found words she could bear to say.

"Does it ever get any easier?"

"Sometimes. Other times it gets worse. All you can do is live through the day. Just that one day. Don't even think about the next one."

Layla nodded. "Thank you, Hakkai." She came to him and leaned up to kiss his cheek, then moved past him to stand close to the fire. She held out her hands to it.

"Dinner is ready." Hakkai began scooping the stew out of the cookpot into a short stack of wooden bowls, handing a bowl to Sanzo, Goku, and Gojyo in turn. He filled another, then held it out to Layla. "Come and eat. You'll feel better."

Layla shook her head. "I doubt I will ever feel 'better' again."

"Eat," Sanzo snapped. "You've proven yourself capable of killing your share of youkai. We may need that skill again before it's time for you to leave us."

Layla looked up at the sky. "Good thing there's a Goddess of Mercy. Fate is certainly turning out to be a cruel bitch."

Gojyo choked, coughed, then burst out laughing. Hakkai set his bowl aside and put one hand to the back of his head as he chuckled quietly. Even Goku snickered. Layla looked around.

"I didn't think it was that funny."

"It would be," Sanzo said, "if you knew the Goddess of Mercy like we do." He stalked over to pick up her bowl of stew and thrust it at her. "Now _eat_."

Layla stared into those impossibly purple eyes, seeing something burning there that might have been only anger, might have been something else. She took the bowl and fished out the wooden spoon buried in the stew. Sanzo stood there watching her, matching her bite for bite. When both bowls were empty, he took up the sake flask and poured the little cup full again. Hakkai had both Goku and Gojyo helping him clean up after the meal, so the three of them were busy on the far side of the fire. Sanzo brought the sake to Layla, standing close enough to make her feel the heat of his body warming her against the night's chill.

"Here. Drink."

"No thank you." The sake made her think about the last time Sanzo had offered it to her, just after he'd been forced to use the sutra to bring her out of the madness.

"It will help you relax."

"I said no."

"Layla." Sanzo's golden brows slanted together in a scowl. "Don't you dare refuse to drink with me a third time."

Layla stared at him, caught between the sickness inside her and the fear of making him really angry. Sanzo leaned toward her and spoke, his voice soft, his breath warm against her ear.

"Drink the sake. It will keep you warm, even if I can't."

Layla looked up at him. The fire gave his golden hair a ruddy gleam. The mark on his cheek was nothing. With his face wiped clean of dirt and blood, Sanzo was once again beautiful. She held out her hand to take the cup. Her fingers shook too badly to grip it. Sanzo wrapped his long fingers around hers and brought the cup to her lips. She sipped, then sipped again, grateful for the warmth of the sake and the sting of it. They chased off the cold that seemed to come not from the night itself but from deep inside her.

When the chores were done, Hakkai, Gojyo, and Goku came back to sit around the fire. Layla drifted back to the place where she'd been sitting earlier. She settled down cross-legged, staring into the flames. Sanzo filled her cup again and handed it to her. Layla drank. Sanzo took the empty cup from her hand and filled it again.

"Sanzo," Hakkai said. "Is that a good idea?"

"You have your ways, I have mine. Just wait."

Layla drank the third cup of sake. She braced her elbows on her knees and rested her chin on her hands. Sanzo watched her, pouring sake for himself, drinking from the same cup. Layla sat up straight and let out a long, loud sigh, shaking her head, making her long hair ripple around her, its red highlights mirroring the fire's red sparks.

"It's easy, isn't it? Once you make up your mind to do it."

"What do you mean?" Goku asked.

"Killing. You just find the right place, then--" She made a stabbing motion.

"Yes," said Sanzo. "Living with it is the hard part."

Layla nodded. When she finally spoke, her voice was very quiet. "Is there any cure for the nightmares?"

Sanzo filled the cup again and held it out to her. Layla looked at it, shrugged, then drank. Hakkai, Gojyo, and Goku watched. After a few minutes Layla's eyes closed. Her head began to nod. Just when Gojyo was about to reach forward and catch her before she toppled into the fire, her head snapped back and her eyes opened.

"They were stupid." Her voice had an edge to it. She knew it was the rage talking, the voice of the monster inside her. "So stupid. How could they think I wouldn't want to avenge my own family?"

"Bandits _are_ stupid," Sanzo said. "Stupid brutes who aren't capable of any work that requires actual intelligence."

Layla nodded. Her eyes squeezed shut. Her fists clenched. Gentle fingers touched her wrist, pressing the rough stoneware surface of the sake cup against her fingertips. Layla took the cup from Sanzo and drank, then held it out.

"More."

Sanzo filled it. Layla drank, then wiped her mouth on the back of her hand. She shook her head, glaring at the fire.

"He said he wouldn't hurt me. How stupid did he think _I_ was? He said if I was nice to him, he'd be nice to me." Layla's mouth twisted. "I _was_ nice to him. I waited until I could shove his dagger straight into his miserable heart." She turned her head to spit on the dirt. "It was a cleaner death than he deserved."

"How many did you kill," Sanzo asked, "before they stopped you?"

"_Not enough._"

"I know that feeling. All too well." He handed her another full cup. "Tell me what happened."

"It was the blood." Layla drank, then held out her hands. "The blood. Blood all over Mama. All over Teryn and Davi and Pitr..." She looked up, a crooked smile on her lips. "Even is even. Blood for blood. I had his dagger. They were all drunk by then. Drunk and slow and stupid." The smile vanished. "But it didn't bring them back! Not Mama, not Daddy, none of them!"

Layla shot straight up onto her feet, hands buried in the hair at her temples. She threw her head back and screamed at the stars. Strong arms closed around her. Gojyo stood behind her, holding her, his long red hair brushing against her cheek. He rocked her, cuddling her against his chest.

"Gojyo--" Sanzo said.

"Shut up. You got what you wanted. Now we know what really happened." Gojyo turned Layla toward the smaller tent. "Come on, honey. Time for you to go to bed."

Sanzo stormed over to plant himself between them and the tent. "If you think I'm going to stand by and let you take advantage of her in this condition--"

"The condition _you_ put her in? Fuck off, Sanzo! I don't use people. I never have. Which is the biggest difference between you and me."

"Layla?" Sanzo asked. "What do you want?"

Layla held on to Gojyo. Sanzo asked what she wanted, but he really meant _who_ she wanted. Sanzo didn't want her anymore, but he didn't want Gojyo to have her either. Layla looked up at the worry that almost hid the longing in Gojyo's eyes. Gojyo was Gojyo. He'd take care of her. She leaned on him, her arms around his waist.

"Well," Gojyo said. "I think that's a pretty clear answer. Goodnight, Sanzo-sama. Sleep well cuddling that gun of yours."

Sanzo stood back, arms crossed, his face a stony mask of disapproval.

"Go then," he said. "But if I hear anything I shouldn't hear, my gun and and I will be paying you a very sudden visit."

"Guns." Layla made a face. "Knives are better. Knives don't need bullets. Can't run out."

"And on that romantic note..." Gojyo gave Layla a gentle push toward the smaller tent.

She pulled away from him. "Hakkai?"

"Yes, Layla?" Hakkai watched her from the far side of the fire.

"You said you knew. That you'd known from the beginning. Was that true?"

"Yes. While we didn't know the details, it was plain to see you had survived the bandit attack. You also survived days in their company, before they sold you to the slavers. That meant the odds were very good you'd killed at least one of them."

"Why didn't they kill you," Sanzo asked, "the instant they discovered the first dead body?"

Layla looked into the fire. That crooked smile came back. "They were afraid of me. Of _me_. They knew I'd gone mad. The best they could do was wait for me to fall asleep, then they took the knife away and tied me to a tree."

She raised tormented eyes to the four of them, then held out her wrists.

"If you think you need to tie me up, go ahead. I wouldn't blame you."

"There's nothing wrong with defending yourself," Hakkai said. "Just like there's nothing wrong with wanting to punish the people who killed your family."

"But there is something wrong with killing people," Layla said. "There has to be."

The firelight glinted on Hakkai's monocle, making it look like his bad eye held leaping flames. "Not if those people deserved to die."

"Right!" said Goku. "We're talking about bandits, Layla. Scum. Thieves and murderers and worse. Killing them should count as a good deed, not a crime!"

Layla shook her head. "It's not that simple."

"No, it isn't." Sanzo moved to stand before Layla. "So you went mad. So you killed a handful of bandits. At least you didn't just lie there and let them rape you then kill you too."

"But -- "

"_Listen to me_! You had a problem and you tried to deal with it. That's much better than giving up and dying."

"Is my life worth more than theirs?"

Sanzo took her chin in a hard grip and turned her face to his. "Look at me, Layla. I am the Thirty-first of China, High Priest Genjo Sanzo. When you shot those youkai assassins, did you believe my life is worth more than theirs?"

"Of course!"

"Then why wouldn't the life of one innocent girl be worth more than a bunch of murdering scum?"

Layla stretched her hands out to the fire. "What you say makes sense, Sanzo-sama. And yet..." She turned her hands this way and that, letting the fire paint them with its reddish light. "See? My hands are stained with blood."

Sanzo held out his right hand to the fire. "So is mine."

Hakkai held out both of his. "So are mine."

Gojyo held out his left. "Same here."

Goku held out his. "Me too."

"Welcome to the club, Layla," Sanzo said. "We are survivors. Our survival implies the death of our enemies. We are fortunate in that our enemies are clearly evil, and intent on spreading that evil far and wide."

"How does that make us fortunate?"

"We may kill them without hesitation or regret."

Layla stared around the ring of firelight at the four of them, all still holding out their hands. She bowed.

"Thank you. Thank you for your mercy, and your strength."


	15. Chapter 15 Journey's End

CHAPTER FIFTEEN Journey's End

They reached the next town in mid-afternoon of the next day. Sanzo didn't know whether to feel relieved or depressed. Tonight would be the last night Layla would spend in their company. Then they would leave her with the family Hakkai would find and continue on their mission to stop the revival of Gyumaoh. Sanzo knew he should have been relieved. That he wasn't told him just how big a fool he'd let himself become.

Hakkai pulled up in front of a likely-looking inn. Goku leaped out. Gojyo helped Layla step down, then grabbed their bags and carried them into the inn, leaving Hakkai and Sanzo sitting side by side.

"Do you want me to take her with me," Hakkai asked, "or shall I find the likeliest people first?"

"Leave her here," Sanzo said. "She still needs more rest than she'll ever have time enough to catch up on."

"True. All right then. I'll get settled, then I'll be on my way."

Sanzo nodded. Hakkai would return in time for dinner with the results of his search. Whether the news was good or bad, Sanzo would then face the painful process of sorting out the last night he and Layla would ever spend near each other.

"Sanzo! Sanzo!" Goku beckoned to him from the inn's doorway. "Come on! This place is great! There's a late lunch buffet!"

Groaning, Sanzo got out of Jeep. After four days on the road, he was more than willing to spend the money on that particular inn, with its decent beds and private baths. Keeping his mind fixed on his own plans for the evening, he handed out the room keys wearing the glare that warned against any argument.

"Hakkai, try to keep that stupid kappa from causing me any serious grief while he's on his latest binge."

"Yes, Sanzo," Hakkai murmured.

"Goku, you're rooming with me. My gun is loaded and I just bought a new harisen, so keep quiet."

"Sure thing, Sanzo!"

Sanzo turned to Layla, who stood behind the others, off to one side. "Layla?"

"Yes, Sanzo-sama?"

"Here." He held out the key to her room.

"For me?" Layla stared at it. "My own room?"

"Unless you really want to sleep on the floor again."

Gojyo snorted. "Only you would make a girl like her do that, Sanzo."

"Better than making her sleep anywhere near you."

With a loud sigh, Layla took the key from Sanzo's hand. "Thank you, Sanzo-sama. I could use some alone time, after all that's been happening."

Sanzo nodded. "Then we'll see you at dinner. Come on, Goku."

An hour later Sanzo felt at least somewhat better after a long bath and some time lying on his bed. Riding in Jeep day after day was enough to drive his spine up through the top of his skull. He tidied his robes, ran one hand through his still-damp hair, checked his sleeves for his gun, harisen, cigarettes, and lighter, then opened the door a crack and checked the hallway. He'd sent Goku downstairs ten minutes earlier so he'd have at least a little time to think over what he was about to do.

The hallway was empty. He stepped out, locked his door, then crossed the short distance that brought him to Layla's door. When he knocked, she answered almost at once.

"Sanzo-sama. Is it time for dinner already?"

Tonight she wore a different dress, this one made of richer fabric the color of good wine. Tiny round bits of mirror had been sewn all over the yoke, forming the centers of the flowers embroidered there in silvery thread. The long generous sleeves and longer skirt draped nicely around her arms and legs, moving with her, giving off a soft swish. Layla wore a pair of barrettes also set with tiny mirrors. They glittered and twinkled against the darkness of her hair.

"Is something wrong, Sanzo-sama?" Layla asked. "You're staring at me."

The heat of a blush warmed Sanzo's cheeks, sparking his temper and making him speak in a harsh voice. "I want to have a word with you after dinner. In private."

"Oh, Sanzo-sama, I don't know." Layla looked away, twisting her skirt in her hands. "I don't think that's a good idea."

"Layla." Sanzo moved closer, making her back up into her room. He followed, stepping through the open doorway. "You and I have unfinished business."

"Sanzo-sama, please. Tomorrow I start a new life with a family of strangers. In fact, I'd planned on asking Hakkai to take me to them after dinner. That way I can get settled in and start my duties first thing in the morning."

"Layla, this is our last night together. The last night we may ever have."

Sanzo reached back to shut the door. Layla gasped, making the little mirrors on the cloth over her breasts flash and twinkle. She took half a step back. The wine-colored gown moved with her, emphasizing her curves, sparkling with every breath. Sanzo stood there, struggling against the sudden need to lock the door, sweep Layla up in his arms and make straight for the bed.

"Please, Layla," he said. "For the sake of the blood and pain and pleasure that you and I have shared, grant me this one request."

"All right, Sanzo-sama." Layla met his gaze, her blue eyes full of suffering, then came to him and put one hand to his cheek. "If you put it that way, I can hardly refuse."

"Thank you." He laid his hand over hers. "The garden, then?"

Layla nodded. "I'm sure I'll have no trouble finding you. I'll just follow the smoke."

Dinner turned into a game of cat and mouse that provided some amusement to counter Sanzo's frustration. Layla did her best to avoid looking at him, but her respect for his rank forced her to meet his gaze when they traded what few words passed between them. The occasional smoldering look from him kept Layla's complexion rosy with endless blushes. Sanzo kept his own feelings hidden, as always, but she knew what he was thinking. His concentration on Layla did lead him to neglect his usual reactions to Goku and Gojyo when the two of them got out of hand.

"Hey, Blondie." Gojyo kicked the leg of Sanzo's chair under the table. "What's eating you? No talking, no shooting, nothing."

Sanzo drank a slow sip of beer. "Just because I'm capable of being quiet, unlike some people, why is that any cause for concern?"

"You look like you have something on your mind. That's usually a bad sign."

"Yeah," Goku piped up. "What'samatter, Sanzo? It's not even raining out. Something bothering you?"

"Yes. You two!"

Out came the harisen before they could duck. Two good solid whacks across each thick head settled that point. Sanzo tucked the fan away and went back to picking the bamboo shoots out of his food. Why anyone ate them, he couldn't understand. It wasn't as if he was some fucking panda, after all.

"Hakkai," Layla said. "Would you be kind enough to drive me to the Henshaw house after dinner?"

Sanzo's grip tightened on his chopsticks until the wood cracked. So the little tease really did mean to run out on him after all.

"What?" Gojyo looked from Layla to Hakkai and back again. "You can't be serious! Are you in that much of a hurry to get away from us?"

"I just think this is safer, that's all." Layla wound a length of Gojyo's long crimson hair around her fingers, then watched it uncoil. "If I stay, I just know strange things will happen in the middle of the night."

Gojyo clasped her hand in his and pressed a kiss to the inside of her wrist. "Honey, all you have to do is ask."

THWACK!

"Hey!" Gojyo scowled, rubbing the back of his head. "Damn, Sanzo! I know you're jealous, but--"

THWACK! This time the fan caught Gojyo from the other direction, knocking him away from Layla.

"Keep your hands to yourself, _baka_," Sanzo snapped.

Hakkai coughed. "If that's really what you want, Layla, then of course, I'll be happy to--"

"No." Sanzo cut him off. "We will deliver Layla to the Henshaws tomorrow."

Hakkai fixed him with his one good green eye. "Do you have some plans you haven't made us aware of, Sanzo?"

"Always. It's the only way to get anything done without you idiots causing all the usual trouble."

"Please do enlighten us, Sanzo-sama." Layla set aside her chopsticks, wiped her mouth with her napkin, then gave Sanzo a look every bit as suspicious as Hakkai's. "How can I sleep if you leave me in suspense?"

Sanzo sent her a slow, molten look out from under the fringe of his golden lashes. Oh yes, he knew just how beautiful he was. He'd long since learned how to use that knowledge. The catch in Layla's breath and the sudden flush coloring her cheeks made him want to knock all the dishes off the table, then drag Layla across it and hold her prisoner on his lap while he kissed her with all the heat and longing that churned inside him. Knowing what that would do to Gojyo almost made Sanzo laugh out loud.

"I want to see this place for myself," Sanzo said. "Once I'm satisfied you will be safe there, then, and _only _then, will I leave you in the Henshaws' keeping."

Layla's rising temper crumbled into confusion. "Oh. Well. I see." She took a sudden gulp of tea. "That's very kind of you, Sanzo-sama. Really."

Hakkai nodded. "Sanzo is the soul of thoughtfulness."

Gojyo snorted. "When he feels like it."

"Don't you have some woman to ruin, kappa?" Sanzo drank more beer, contemplating his next move. "Time is passing and the evening is getting old."

Gojyo shrugged. "Plenty of women. Plenty of time."

Goku made a face. "Pervert."

Gojyo smiled. "Expert."

Sanzo turned to Hakkai. "What are your plans for the evening?"

"The innkeeper has a particularly fine mah jong set. He was complaining to me earlier that the pieces don't get handled often enough. The ivory has begun to age."

"So you volunteered to oil the set?"

Hakkai smiled. "The human body is an amazing thing. The natural oils of the skin are good for so many things."

"True," Gojyo said, giving Layla a wicked smile. "Very, very true."

Layla drank the last of her tea and stood up. "Tomorrow will be a very important day, so I believe I'll go put my things in order before I turn in."

Gojyo rose to follow her. "Is there anything you need, Layla?

"Sit down, kappa." Sanzo glared at him. "She doesn't need _your_ help with folding her laundry."

"Piss off, Sanzo. I'm asking a serious question here. We didn't do all that much shopping before we left town last time." Gojyo turned back to Layla. "We could still hit the marketplace here. Sometimes the evening dealers give better prices."

"You are so kind, Gojyo. Generous beyond measure." Layla wrapped her arms around Gojyo's waist, hugging him. The sight of that made Sanzo's teeth clench.

"Let me get organized," Layla said. "Then I'll have a better idea of what I might need. Will you be down here for a little while before you go out?"

"I'll wait as long as you like."

This wouldn't do. Not at all. Sanzo looked at Goku, whose frantic consumption of everything set before him was finally slowing down.

"Goku," he said. "You wanted to go to the arcade, didn't you?"

Those big golden eyes lit up. "Oh yes! Yes, please, Sanzo! Can I?"

Sanzo nodded. "Sure. When Gojyo leaves, you go with him."

"Hey!" Gojyo yelped. "I'm supposed to be the monkey wrangler now?"

"You have a problem with that, _baka_?"

Gojyo matched Sanzo's glare for a long moment, then grinned. "Not at all. Maybe it's time our little Goku had a guided tour of the kind of arcade a grown man plays in."

Sanzo shot straight up out of his chair. "Don't even think about it, you fucking half-breed pervert!"

"Sanzo!" Hakkai glanced around at the other diners, some of whom were staring at Sanzo in open-mouthed shock.

Goku looked back and forth between Gojyo and Sanzo, confused. "But Sanzo, that sounds like fun. For once Gojyo's trying to be nice to me. Shouldn't we let him?"

Hakkai lost it. He leaned back in his chair, one hand to the back of his head, laughing his quiet laugh so hard his monocle fell off. Hakuryuu pounced on it, then scurried under Hakkai's chair.

Sanzo glared daggers at Gojyo's smirk. "I _will_ kill you for that, kappa. I will drill you so many times not a single bone will remain unbroken."

Gojyo's grin got even bigger. "Y'know, Sanzo, all you ever talk about is drilling me. I'm starting to wonder if maybe I should give _you_ that guided tour." He swung his hair back, put his head to one side, then looked Sanzo up and down, licking his lips. "Maybe what you need is a private tutor."

Sanzo's hand plunged into his sleeve. Before he could draw his pistol, Layla stepped between him and Gojyo. She put her arms around Sanzo's waist, trapping his hand inside his sleeve and pinning his arm between their bodies.

"Layla," Sanzo said. "Once again, you are in the way."

"Sanzo-sama." Layla looked up at him, those sea-blue eyes capturing him as always. She took a slow, deep breath, making Sanzo realize his forearm lay directly between her breasts. "How many times do we have to have this conversation?"

Gojyo laughed. "My own pretty little bodyguard."

"Stop teasing Sanzo-sama," Layla snapped over her shoulder. "Just because you're free to play this 'plenty of women, plenty of time' game doesn't mean that's how every man should waste his time."

Sanzo allowed himself a smirk. Gojyo had been stupid enough to show too much playboy swagger in front of Layla and now he'd pay for it.

Gojyo stared at her, his mouth hanging open. "But Layla, I just--"

"Be quiet, Gojyo." Layla shook her head. "One minute you flirt with me. The next you brag about how you can have any woman you want. Then you turn around and practically throw yourself at Sanzo-sama, and he's a monk! More than that, a High Priest!" She looked up at Sanzo. "Let's go take that walk in the garden."

Sanzo relaxed his grip on his pistol. He stared over Layla's head at Gojyo, savoring the triumph of having Layla choose him over Gojyo, right in front of the entire dining room. He took his hand out of his sleeve and laid his arm around her shoulders.

"Remember what I said, _baka erokappa_," he snapped. "Take Goku anywhere but the marketplace and the arcade and I'll be using you for target practice."

"Oh!" Gojyo wailed. "This can't be happening! A woman choosing His Holiness over _me_? Mr. So-Cold-He-Pisses-Snowflakes? I can't believe it!"

Once they were out in the garden, Layla ducked out from under Sanzo's arm. She stormed away a few feet, then turned back to face him, arms crossed and face set in a frown.

"Tell me something, Sanzo-sama. Why for Tenkai's sake are the four of you traveling together? You can't stand each other!"

Sanzo lit a cigarette. "I was wondering when you'd finally get around to asking." He savored the first few puffs. It was a cool, clear evening, the air so sweet it made the tobacco taste even better.

"Well, Sanzo-sama?" Layla asked. "When do you suppose you might get around to answering?"

Voices passed by along the walkway bordering the garden. Sanzo took Layla by the arm and pulled her along with him as he followed the pathway of stepping stones farther into the garden.

"We're on our way to India. We have some business to take care of there."

"India?" Layla's frown deepened, this time with puzzlement. "But that's so far away. It will take years to get there."

Sanzo sighed. "It feels that way." He took another drag and blew a thin stream of smoke into the night. "Now you tell me something. Why haven't you asked about this sooner?"

Layla shrugged. "The four of you were willing to treat me well and keep me safe from the slavers. That was all I needed to know."

"I've never met a woman yet who could control her curiosity."

"How many women have you met, Sanzo-sama? How many have you really talked to, instead of just dismissing with one of those nasty little noises you like to make?"

Sanzo stared down at her over the glowing end of his cigarette. "Somebody's in a bad mood tonight."

"Why shouldn't I be? Tomorrow I move in with strangers, to begin a life I was never meant to live, too far from whatever's left of what I can no longer call my home. How would you feel if you were in my place?"

Sanzo thought about the day his master had waded out into the shallows of the river to scoop him up and carry him back to the temple. Sanzo had stopped wondering a long time ago who he would have been if whoever threw him in the river had left him to grow up with the mother who gave birth to him. He was who he was, the man he'd been raised to become, trying to become the man his master had wanted him to be.

"I'd feel angry, and frightened, and bitter. I'd hate everything that stole my rightful life."

Layla's frown softened. She turned away, rubbing her hands up and down her arms. "Hakkai says they're decent people. I can only hope he's right."

"He is. He'd no sooner abandon you to the wrong kind of people than I would."

"Why? Why do you care so much about a stranger, a girl you've only know four days?"

"Four days can be a lifetime."

Sanzo dropped the stub of his cigarette and crushed it out. He closed the distance between them and wrapped his arms around her, breathing in the scent of her hair. "Come upstairs with me. I have things to say to you that I don't want overheard and turned into gossip."

"Upstairs? You mean – your room?"

"Yes. My room."

"Sanzo-sama." Layla stood there, head bowed. "This is not a good idea."

"Why not?"

"Because. The last time we were alone together, things almost went too far."

"I didn't hear you complaining."

"You wouldn't hear me complaining this time, either. It's because I know that about myself that I have to say no right now, before it ever gets that far."

"What are you afraid of?"

She struggled against his grip. "Don't Buddhists preach the virtue of remaining free of attachments? Free of desires? Free of all the things that chain us to one place, one person, one state of being?"

"Answer me. What are you afraid of?"

"You."

"Me?"

"You, Sanzo-sama. I already said too much when I told you my heart wants you. Tomorrow this daydream ends. I start a new life and you go on living yours. We live as we began our lives, without each other."

"Layla..."

"Do you think he knew? When he met me, do you think your master ever had any idea that one day you and I would meet?"

"There's no way to know what without asking my master himself. And that's not possible."

"No. So many things aren't." Layla tried again to step back. "Please, Sanzo-sama. Let me go. Let me go do my packing and cry myself to sleep and then wake up with my heart broken and my mind made up."

Sanzo took her face in his hands. "Are you so willing to embrace the pain without even allowing yourself what little pleasure you might have?"

"Pain is honest. Pleasure can lie to you. I already hurt as much as I can stand. Any more and I'll go completely mad."

Sanzo combed his fingers through her hair, savoring the silky feel of it, then gripped it just hard enough to pull her head back. His lips touched hers, a slow sinking down into her softness. He lingered there, tasting each second of pleasure, making himself feel every moment as it slipped through the hourglass that measured out his time in this world. When Sanzo finally raised his head, Layla clung to him, her cheeks flushed, her eyes glazed, her breathing a little ragged.

"Don't be a coward, Layla," he whispered. "Not now. Not when there's so little time left."

She sighed. "All right. But just for a little while."

"Go, then. It's better if we aren't seen together."

Layla nodded. She followed the stepping stones back out of the garden. Sanzo watched her for a moment, then turned and headed out the other way.


	16. Chapter 16 Close Harmony

CHAPTER SIXTEEN Close Harmony

Layla followed the path back to the inn's door. Gojyo would be sitting there waiting for her, restless and fidgety. It would be so easy to let herself be overwhelmed by his charm and his forceful personality. He'd carry her off to the marketplace to buy her more clothes and anything else she so much as looked at twice. Layla turned and took the branching path around the corner of the building to the kitchen. Steam billowed out into the night air, rich with the smells of cooking, of grease, of bodies working hard in the heat of the hearth and oven. She waited in the doorway until one of the cooks noticed her. The short, plump, gray-haired woman walked over, wiping wet hands on her apron.

"Yes, dear? Did you need something?"

"I wonder if you'd be kind enough to let me come back inside this way. You see, there's a man waiting for me, and--"

"And you don't want him to see you." The old cook nodded, smiling with the few teeth she had left. "Come in then, dear. Keep to the wall as you go out and you can slip right up the stairs."

"Thank you."

Layla did as she was told. Sure enough, Gojyo was busy watching the door that led to the garden, pacing back and forth while he smoked. He never even looked toward the stairs as Layla hurried up them, trying to keep her footfalls soft. Her room was at the end of the hallway. She had a sudden fierce desire to run and hide, to lock herself away from Sanzo and whatever he wanted to say to her. Better to let him think she'd misunderstood his instructions. She'd have to weather his temper, but at least she could buy herself a few moments alone to gather her thoughts and try to get a grip on her composure.

Layla was two doors away from her room when the door she was just passing opened. An arm shot out, a hand gripped her arm and dragged her inside, then the door slammed behind her. Before Layla could draw breath to scream, rough hands pushed her up against the door and a hot, eager mouth covered hers. Just as she was about to bring her knee up hard, her hands touched the black leather covering her attacker's lean, muscular torso. Beneath the scents of tobacco and beer, she caught that faint breath of white flowers. Sanzo.

Relief made her relax within Sanzo's grip. He'd taken off his robes, leaving him dressed in the black leather undershirt, the arm warmers, his jeans, tabi and sandals. She slid her hands up his chest to his shoulders, then up his neck into his hair. Tangling her fingers in the heavy golden silk, she jerked his head back.

"That wasn't very nice, Sanzo-sama. You scared me half to death."

Sanzo grimaced, reaching up to wrap those iron fingers around her wrists and squeeze until she let go of his hair.

"You walked right past my door, Layla. Where were you going? Back to your own room?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because then you'd come looking for me there, and our chances of being interrupted would be smaller. Goku knows where your room is. So do Hakkai and Gojyo."

Sanzo stared hard into her eyes. His fingers loosened slightly around her wrists, reading the pounding of her pulse. "Why didn't you just knock and then make that suggestion to me?"

"Because I didn't expect you to be up here yet!" Layla jerked her wrists free of his grasp. "How _did_ you get up here ahead of me?"

"I can move fast when I need to."

"It amazes me, what determines whether or not you 'need' to."

"You should be flattered."

"What I am is upset and angry and not at all in the mood for this kind of domination!"

Those amethyst eyes flashed. A half-smile pulled at Sanzo's lips. "Fine. Let me put you back in the right mood."

He bent to kiss her. She turned her head. The kiss landed on her cheek. Sanzo moved down along her jawline, then pressed a burning ring of kisses around her throat. Layla just stood there, leaning on the door, holding it shut. Sanzo raised his head and shot her a glare.

"You're making me work way too hard for this."

Layla's patient expression changed to one of pure fury. She slapped Sanzo across the face.

"God damn it!" Sanzo touched one hand to his stinging cheek. "What the hell was _that_ for?"

"I challenge you to think very hard about what you just said to me."

Sanzo looked blank, then cursed again. "Do you really think all I'm talking about is sex?" He spun around and stormed a few feet away, then turned back again. "Haven't you been listening at _all_? I have things to say to you, Layla. Important things." He scowled, tried to speak, faltered. "Things I've never wanted to say to anyone else before now."

His shyness melted the last of Layla's temper. She took his hand away from his face and kissed the reddened skin. "I'm sorry, Sanzo-sama. My nerves are drawn tighter than bowstrings right now. Please have patience with me."

"Your room," he said. "Now."

They slipped out into the hallway and across to her door without being observed. Once inside, Sanzo took the key from Layla's hand and made sure the door was locked. Layla took a seat on her bed, tidied her wine-colored sleeves and skirt, then sat there, hands folded primly in her lap. Sanzo looked at her, then snorted and walked over to the window. He pulled his cigarettes out of one hip pocket and his lighter out of the other, lit one and dragged the bracing smoke deep into his lungs. Not until the glowing end almost scorched his fingers could he find the words to begin.

"Gojyo told you his sob story. Now it's my turn to tell you mine." Sanzo closed his eyes, steeling himself against the pain of forcing the words out. "When I was thirteen, a band of youkai attacked the temple where I lived with my master. These were no wild youkai. They were assassins, with a very specific mission. They'd been sent to steal the two sutras my master guarded."

Memories of that night rushed into mind. The blood, the horror, the agony that had taken root in his heart and poisoned every day of his life since then. Even now, after all the years and all the effort he'd put into hardening his heart, even now the tears stung his eyes.

"I couldn't stop them. They only got away with one of the sutras, but they took something else, something far more precious than either."

He sucked in a deep breath, then another, digging his nails into his palms until he could feel the seeping wetness of blood. Still he couldn't trust his voice to remain steady.

Layla's arms slid around his waist. She held him tight, her cheek pressed against his back.

"They killed him, didn't they." It wasn't a question. Layla understood, the same way she understood so many things. Knowing that eased the tightness in Sanzo's chest, letting him draw enough breath to speak quietly.

"Before my master died, he gave me the name I bear now. Priest Genjo Sanzo. The remaining sutra passed from his hands into mine. I should have received both. And so I spent the next several months searching for those youkai and the sutra that was now mine by right."

Sanzo turned within the circle of Layla's arms and ran his hands back over her hair, tilting her face up to his. "Imagine a thirteen year old boy, out wandering on foot, dressed in the robes of a Buddhist monk. A boy pretty enough to be mistaken for a girl. That's what the first bandit thought. It didn't seem to bother him very much when he discovered that I am in fact male."

Layla gasped. "Sanzo! What did you do?"

"I shot him. Point blank range, through his right eye. Blew off most of his head. That was the first time I used the pistol. From that moment on, it became my best friend." He sighed, rubbing the fingertips of his right hand against his thumb, feeling the calluses and scars and memories of powder burns. "All it asks is to be fed with bullets, to be cleaned and oiled regularly, and to be fired with respect. Other than that, it says nothing, and I can always count on it in a fight."

Layla nodded. "An admirable ally."

"Just like you. You walked up behind that third youkai and pistol whipped him like an expert."

"Coming from you, that's high praise indeed."

"You see?" Sanzo said, smoothing his hands over her long braid, down her back, along her hips. "You and I have a great deal in common. More than just shared tragedies, we have a certain sympathy of mind."

"Are you saying we might consider ourselves 'kindred spirits'?"

"Perhaps." He took her face in his hands and just brushed his lips along hers. "That's why I have one other request."

"Yes?"

"Stay with me tonight. _All_ night."

He kissed her, softly at first, then harder as the fire in his blood ignited and burned away the last of his patience. Layla pulled back.

"But—Sanzo! What if the Henshaws heard about this? You and I, spending the night together in the same room! Do you really want to leave me behind with Mrs. Henshaw watching me day in and day out, waiting to see if my belly gets bigger with the bastard child of High Priest Genjo Sanzo?"

Sanzo licked his lips, distracted by the taste of her. "Would that be so terrible?"

"Yes! You haven't told me exactly what your 'business' in India is, but given the way those youkai attacked us, I think it's safe to assume the business is extremely dangerous." Layla shook her head. "Even if you do survive the journey, you have the rest of a very important, very _monastic_ life to live."

"I know. I wake up every morning to the unbearable knowledge that I have to live through yet another day."

Sanzo peeled off his arm warmers and tossed them on the foot of the bed, then stripped off his black undershirt.

"Sanzo..." Layla's gaze drifted downward, along the muscles in his chest, his washboard belly, down to the jeans that rode low on his hips.

Sanzo took her face in his hands and kissed her, plunging his tongue into her mouth again and again until she broke free, gasping for breath. Sanzo wrapped both arms around her, pinning her against him.

"Can you look me in the eye and tell me you don't want me?"

Layla turned her face away. "This is wrong."

"To hell with right and wrong! You've seen how I live. On the road all day, no peace thanks to those morons the Sanbutsushin stuck me with, getting attacked by youkai who want to eat me alive so they can live forever..."

Layla broke free, clapping her hands over her ears. Sanzo seized her wrists and jerked her hands away.

"Do you have any idea how many times I've put that pistol to my own temple? How many times I've had to wrack my brain to think up one single good reason _not_ to pull the trigger?"

"Oh Sanzo-sama." Layla bit her lip, her eyes gleaming with unshed tears. "I don't know how you stand the strain."

"Neither do I." Sanzo stared down into those cool blue eyes, wishing he could sink into their depths and drown himself in Layla's beauty. "Please, Layla. Lie down with me and help me find some kind of rest, some kind of mercy before I have to get up again and face the agony of leaving you behind."

Layla pressed her face against his chest. Sanzo relaxed his grip on her wrists, allowing Layla to twine their fingers together.

"The closer we get," she said, "the more it will hurt when we have to say goodbye."

"It's going to hurt no matter what. We can be pious martyrs and die lonely and empty, or we can take this moment and make it our own."

Layla raised her head to look into Sanzo's eyes. She stroked his forehead, brushing back the loose golden strands of his hair. When her fingertips touched the chakra, a tingle shot through Sanzo.

"Do you know what this is?" he asked, reaching up to press her fingertips against the red mark.

"It means you're a Sanzo."

He nodded. "It's the tangible proof of divine approval, Tenkai's seal on my elevation to the rank of Sanzo." He touched her forehead. "Do you know you have a mark of your own?"

"Do I? It can't be like yours!"

"When you shot the second youkai, the recoil from the pistol slammed the hammer into your forehead. Hakkai is very good at making bruises fade. I'm surprised this mark is still visible."

"But—it's just a bruise. It doesn't mean anything." She put her fingertips to the mark. "Does it?"

"I'll tell you what I think." Sanzo moved her hand away and kissed the mark. "I think you were meant to be mine."

"How can that be?"

"I don't know." Sanzo touched her cheek, stroking her soft skin with his fingertips. "I've never met a woman I could stand to be near for more than five minutes. Too much noise, too much empty-headed chatter. But you..." He pressed his forehead to hers, caressing her hair. "You don't speak unless you have something to say. It usually is worth saying, and worth hearing as well, which makes it doubly rare and valuable."

"Sanzo, please. You don't have to say all this."

"Yes I do. It would have come as a big enough surprise to learn I could tolerate your presence, but it's gone far beyond that." Sanzo stared down into her eyes. "Yes, I want you. You're the first woman who has made me see how much there is to want. But that's not what's most important."

"Then tell me what is."

"Do you remember what you said to me in the tent that night? It's not just my body that wants you." Sanzo took a deep breath. He had to say the words. He had to. There was no time to hide, to hold back. "_My_ heart wants you as well."

Those blue eyes widened with hope and fear. "Sanzo-sama..."

"Don't call me that. That's my title, not my name."

"Genjo, then?"

"Nobody has ever called me that, nobody but the Sanbutsushin, and we're not exactly drinking buddies."

"What shall I call you, then?"

"My name. Koryuu."

"Koryuu." Layla smiled. "How beautiful. It suits you."

"You think so? I grew up hearing it as 'river rat' and worse from the monks at the temple. They thought my master must have lost his mind, taking in this foundling somebody else threw away."

"Many great men have been thought to be insane or fools by people who weren't capable of understanding how great such men really were."

Sanzo nodded. "Exactly. My master was a great man. With a great heart, the biggest I've ever known." He stared off into the distance. "I don't have to tell _you_ that. You know how great he was."

"I do. I treasure every moment I spent in his presence."

Sanzo wrapped his arms around her and crushed her against his chest, burying his face in the silky darkness of her hair. "You are the only person on the face of the earth I share that with. Only you, Layla. Only you."

"Koryuu..."

Layla took hold of his wrists and lifted his hands away from her body, planting a kiss on each palm. Then she let go of him and stepped back. For one hideous, gut-wrenching moment, Sanzo was sure Layla was about to walk out. Instead, she began to unplait her long braid. Sanzo stood transfixed, watching all her long hair spill down around her shoulders, down her back to her waist and hips. She knelt in the middle of the bed, then swept her arm up beneath her hair to lift it all out of the way when she lay back against the pillows.

Sanzo set one knee on the foot of the bed, then planted both hands on the mattress, moving up the length of Layla's body until he could stare down into her eyes, his body hovering just above hers. He let his weight down onto her, pressing her into the mattress. Layla's eyes fluttered closed. She made a soft sound of pleasure, her arms rising to hold him as her hands settled on his bare back. Sanzo kissed her throat, lingering on that spot where her pulse throbbed against his lips. He soothed it with his tongue, painting little circles over it, drawing swirling lines down her throat.

"Koryuu," she breathed against his ear. Her hands slid down his back. She slipped her fingers into the back pockets of his jeans and pulled him tighter against her, lifting her hips to press herself against his hardness. Sanzo growled, capturing Layla's mouth in a kiss meant to set her soul on fire. His right hand glided around her breast, tracing its full curve before covering it with the heat of his palm. His fingertips toyed with the stiff bud of her nipple, making Layla gasp.

"This comes off," Sanzo murmured against her lips, tugging at her dress. "_Now_."

He moved to one side, allowing Layla to slide out from underneath him. She pulled the dress off over her head and laid it aside, then stood there, her long hair a silky dark curtain hanging past her hips, highlighting the fairness of her skin. Sanzo needed to see all of her, every naked inch. He knelt to strip off her panties.

Layla stroked his hair. "I never thought to see you on your knees before me."

"This is the correct position for worshipping a goddess."

He kissed her hipbone then moved across her smooth belly, leaving a line of fire with kiss after kiss. Layla put her hands on his shoulders to steady herself. Sanzo glanced up to see the full weight of her breasts rising and falling with her ragged breath. She met his gaze, the blue of her eyes stormy with need.

"Koryuu," she whispered. "Please. My heart is beating so hard. I feel like I might faint..."

Sanzo stood up and caught her, lifting her up in his arms and laying her down on the bed. A sudden thumping rhythm shook the floor beneath his bare feet. Someone was walking down the hallway. Sanzo knew that stride. Gojyo. He was coming to find Layla so he could take her out on their little shopping trip. Sudden wicked temptation seized Sanzo. Moving again to the foot of the bed, Sanzo knelt at Layla's feet. He trailed kisses up the inside of her calf, one ear tuned to the sound of footsteps drawing closer. Moving up the inside of Layla's thigh, Sanzo planted hot, wet kisses on the tender skin. Layla's breathing turned harsh with the sudden sharp rise in her arousal. Sanzo gently pushed Layla's thighs farther apart, then pressed a deep, wet kiss to the very center of her desire.

"Aaaaaah! _Koryuu_!"

Layla thrashed so hard against his hands it was all Sanzo could do to keep her on the bed. The squeaking and creaking of the bed was pure music to his ears, so loud it had to be audible out in the hallway. Again Layla tensed up all over, her breath catching as she neared the peak. Her fingers sank into Sanzo's hair, pressing his face even deeper into her moist heat. The sudden glory of it struck her, making her arch up as his name burst from her in a scream.

"_Sanzo!_"

Layla cried out again and again. At last her shuddering slowed down and her breathing evened out. Sanzo kept expecting to hear Gojyo's footsteps retreat back toward the stairs. It would be just like the perverted _hanyo_ if he stood out there listening to Sanzo make love to Layla. Such a thing would feed the _erokappa's_ sick little fantasies for months. Sudden anger seized Sanzo. Before he realized what he was doing, he was up and moving toward the door, yanking it open. Gojyo stood there, his face the perfect picture of misery.

"She's _mine_," Sanzo hissed. "She was _meant_ to be mine!"

Nodding, Gojyo turned and walked back down the hallway, head down and shoulders sagging. Sanzo watched him go, the taste of victory almost as sweet as the taste of Layla on his lips. He shut the door and walked back to the bed. Layla turned her head. Her eyes fluttered open. To see that lovely sea-blue stare glazed over with sated passion made Sanzo's hunger for her unbearable. He unsnapped his jeans and eased the zipper down, gasping in relief as the pressure was finally eased. Layla regarded the rampant proof of his arousal with a mixture of curiosity and fear. She touched him with one fingertip, making Sanzo's whole body jerk in response.

"So soft," she murmured, stroking him, light feathery touches up and down the entire length. "And yet so hard underneath."

Sanzo groaned. He desperately wanted to pull her thighs up around his waist and get on with this, but what she was doing felt so good.

"San—Koryuu?"

"Hn?"

"May I-- May I--"

"What?"

"I want--" Again Layla couldn't say the words.

Sanzo looked down to see her licking her lips while her hand went on stroking him. Understanding struck him, bringing with it a new rush of heat.

"You want to kiss it?"

"Yes. Like you did to me. Is that all right?"

Sanzo didn't trust his voice. He stretched out beside her on the bed. Layla sat up and swung her long hair out of the way, throwing it up across Sanzo's naked chest and belly. The soft fall of it on his skin sent a shiver of pleasure sweeping over him. All rational thought fell apart as Layla ran her tongue along the underside from tip to base. Sanzo groaned, sinking one hand into her hair. Her gentle exploration was the most exquisite torture. It was good, so good, too good for him to hold out against the pressure gathering low in his belly.

"Layla," he gasped. "I'm close."

Layla drew her nails down the insides of his thighs. Sanzo buried both hands in her hair, moving her head in the faster rhythm he craved.

"Oh yes... Oh gods... Layla, _Layla!_"

His hips jerked hard, again and again. The blinding light tore him apart, shredding him with ecstasy, leaving him clean and whole and new. His hands fell away from Layla's hair. He let out a long, slow breath, savoring his new sense of peace and relaxation.

Moments later the silky length of it slid off his chest and belly. Layla curled up against his side. Sanzo turned his head to nuzzle her hair and plant a weak kiss on her forehead. If the pleasure of having her mouth on him was this intense, he couldn't imagine how good it would feel when he finally buried himself deep inside her virgin heat. The thought of that stirred his desire. Another need came upon him, so sudden and so strong it demanded immediate satisfaction.

Sanzo sat up and grabbed his jeans, fishing his cigarettes and lighter out of the hip pocket. He smoked one cigarette down, then another, all the while staring at Layla's naked figure. Just as he'd thought that night in the tent, he was being stupid and he knew it. Already this taste of real sexual pleasure left him knowing it would become an addiction, just as he'd gotten hooked on cigarettes and caffeine. He _needed_ them, and a day without either was a bad day. A day without Layla would be hell itself.

Sanzo was glad the darkness in the room kept Layla from seeing his expression as he savored another kind of satisfaction. Layla wanted _him_. She'd done for him something she'd never do for Gojyo. _And Gojyo knew it_. The stupid kappa's impatience had driven him upstairs just in time to hear Layla scream out Sanzo's name from the heights of her pleasure. That should have blasted the arrogant fucking _kappa_ with the kind of payback that would scar him for the rest of his useless life.

Sanzo pulled on his jeans and slipped his feet into his sandals, then pulled the blankets back under Layla and gently eased her under them. "I'm going downstairs for something. I'll be right back."

She nodded sleepily.

Sanzo pulled on his black undershirt and arm warmers, then headed downstairs.

Author's Note: The steamier version of this chapter can be found at 


	17. Chapter 17 Testing Limits

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN Testing Limits

The master there greeted him with proper respect.

"Sake," Sanzo said. "The best you've got."

The master hurried into the back of the inn. While he was gone, Sanzo smoked another cigarette and looked out into the dining room. Hakkai and Gojyo still sat at their table. A bottle of whisky in front of Gojyo was two thirds empty. Gojyo slouched in his chair like he didn't give a damn if he lived or died. Then Sanzo realized what didn't seem right. Goku. Where the hell was Goku? Abandoning any hope of discretion, Sanzo stormed into the dining room.

"Hey! You two! Where the hell is Goku?"

Hakkai shot him a look that was almost cold enough to stop him in his tracks. That only doubled Sanzo's fury. He stood across the table from Hakkai and Gojyo.

"Didn't I tell you to take the monkey to the arcade?"

Gojyo raised his head. His eyes were like chips of crimson ice. "Fuck you, Sanzo-sama. _You_ got him out of his cage. He's _your_ problem."

Sanzo looked at Hakkai. "I can see he's about as useful as ever. Do you have any idea where Goku is?"

Hakkai looked away. "When it became obvious to me that you were 'occupied,' I persuaded Goku to go and take an after dinner nap in our room. I believe that's where he is at the moment."

The aloof disdain in Hakkai's tone made Sanzo want to lash out. He dropped his cigarette and ground it under his heel.

"I'm overjoyed to see somebody around here has at least some sense."

"Sanzo." Gojyo straightened up out of his slouch, then rose to his full height, forcing Sanzo to look up at him. "If you hurt Layla, nothing in Heaven or on earth will stop me from killing you."

"Shut up and sit down, you stupid fucking cockroach. Don't make threats you can't keep."

Gojyo shot forward, catching Sanzo's wrists and forcing both up behind his back. He glared down at Sanzo, who abruptly realized that Gojyo was stone cold sober.

"I mean it," Gojyo said. "You treat her like anything but the treasure she is, and I will gladly rot in hell forever just for the privilege of tearing you apart."

"Back _off_," Sanzo snapped. "Or I'll see to it what happens to you will make your childhood look like a blessing."

Gojyo's eyes narrowed. "Why are you down here? Why aren't you up there with her right now?"

"None of your fucking business."

"Tell me." Gojyo tightened his grip. "You won't make much of a lover with two broken arms."

Sanzo glared at Hakkai. "If this stupid fucking _hanyo_ means anything to you, make him let me go."

Hakkai gave him a thin, cold smile. "I'm also waiting to hear your answer, Sanzo. And it had better be good."

Sanzo drew a long, shaky breath, then let it hiss out between his teeth. "Sake. I thought some sake would help her. You know, so it won't hurt as much."

Gojyo made a noise of disgust and released Sanzo with such force Sanzo fell into the chair behind him.

"You make me sick. Is that all you know about it? Get her drunk so she won't feel it?"

Sanzo stood up, his smile like the edge of a scythe. "You heard her, _kappa_. You know how good I can make her feel."

"Then go finish the job!" Gojyo grabbed his bottle of whisky in one hand and his jacket in the other and stormed out the inn's front door.

Sanzo was about to go back to the bar to collect the sake

when Hakkai stood up.

"He means it, Sanzo," Hakkai said quietly. "I've never seen him this upset. He's formed a very serious bond with Layla, the kind of bond that transcends lifetimes. If you really are as wise as you would have us believe, you will respect that."

Sanzo held Hakkai's cold emerald stare for a long moment. "Do you really think I could just use Layla and throw her away? Is that the kind of man you think I am?"

Hakkai nodded. "That is certainly the kind of man you want us to think you are."

"You're wrong."

"Prove it." Hakkai moved close enough to Sanzo to speak in a whisper and still be heard. "Do right by Layla, Sanzo. She has suffered agonies much like the ones we've all suffered. Don't add to her grief."

Sanzo pushed past him. In the bar, the master had the jug of sake waiting, along with two pretty little cups.

"A special occasion, Sanzo-sama?" the master asked.

"Yes. I'm celebrating."

"Wonderful! Is there anything else I can get for you?"

Sanzo was about to shake his head, then paused. "Do you have anything sweet? I need a cake."

"How large, Sanzo-sama?"

"Not very. Enough for two people."

The master nodded. "How would you like it decorated?"

"Flowers. Something pretty."

"I believe the kitchen can provide you with just the thing."

"Good. Bring it up to my room in two hours."

"As you wish, Sanzo-sama."

Carrying the sake flask and the two cups, Sanzo took the stairs two at a time. As much as he hated to admit it, Gojyo's threats and Hakkai's warning could not be dismissed. Gojyo had developed a powerful attachment to Layla, and Hakkai wouldn't tolerate anyone or anything causing Gojyo grief. Sanzo would love nothing better than to shoot both of them, but what progress they'd made on the journey west had taught him he did need their help if he was to complete his mission. Once again he thought how fortunate it was that Layla had to leave their company tomorrow.

He opened the door to find Layla awake, standing by the open window brushing out her hair. She'd put on her other nightgown, the light blue one with the buttons like little silver roses. The moonlight streaming in through the window showed him the lines of her body through the sheer cotton cloth. She stared up at the moon. Its light shone down on her eyes, illuminating the blue and giving it a more brilliant shine. Sanzo realized he still stood in the open doorway, staring at her like some lovestruck fool.

"I was starting to worry."

Layla's voice startled Sanzo into motion. He set the sake flask and cups down on the nightstand beside the bed, then went to take her in his arms.

"Did you think I wasn't coming back?"

"No. I was just afraid something had happened." She held him, her arms tight around his waist, rubbing her cheek against his shoulder. "Something always does."

"Here I am." He took her hand and led her back to the bed. He poured the sake into the cups and picked them up, holding one out to her.

"What's this?" she asked.

"I thought you might be thirsty."

"Tea would have been just fine."

"Tea is boring. I know, I've drunk gallons of it."

Layla took the cup from his hand. "Sanzo, is there something on your mind? Something I should know?"

Sanzo stroked her cheek. "All right, you've caught me. I'm going to get you drunk and ravish you. There, happy now?"

Layla's lips twitched. She burst out laughing.

"That's better." Sanzo raised his sake cup to her and drank.

Layla returned the toast and sipped at hers, wincing at the strength of the sake. "This is strong stuff!"

"Indeed it is." Sanzo refilled his cup and topped off hers.

Layla stared down into the little cup, then looked at him again. "Sanzo, the last time you wanted me to drink sake, you were up to something. Tell me what makes you think you need to get me drunk now."

Sanzo sighed. "I just want this to go easier for you, Layla." He looked away. When he spoke, his voice was so soft Layla had to lean closer to hear him. "I don't want to hurt you."

"Koryuu." Layla touched his cheek and turned his face back to hers. "You would never hurt me."

She drank, then held out her cup to him. Sanzo filled it. She drank again, then carried the little cup over to the windowsill and left it there. She came back to the bed and stretched out, arranging her hair on the pillows.

"Come here, Koryuu. Come and show me what Heaven really feels like."

Sanzo stood looking down at her. She was so beautiful. So kind and funny, so wise and loving... Sanzo drank his sake and set the cup aside, then stripped off his clothing and lay down beside Layla. She turned onto her side, facing him, and laid her hand on his naked hip.

"Why are you dressed?" Sanzo asked softly.

Layla smiled. "Think of it as gift wrapping."

"More than a gift," he murmured, freeing the buttons and pushing the nightgown off her shoulders. "You are a treasure, Layla. A jewel. One of a kind."

"I could same the same of you," she leaned forward and kissed his lips, "Koryuu."

The sight of her like that, her breasts bare, her long hair loose, her eyes bright and cheeks flushed from the sake and something more... The heat in Sanzo's blood turned to pure fire. More than the desire fast making him hard again, he felt a deeper warmth filling his heart. Layla was everything he could want in a woman.

He drew her into a kiss that went on and on, their tongues mingling, their hands searching out all those spots that made the other gasp and sigh and moan. Soon Layla lay panting beneath him, her nightgown gone, leaving nothing between her skin and Sanzo's. He slid his knee between hers and eased her thighs apart, then combed his fingers through her short curls. Layla gasped, her hips jerking against his hand.

"Koryuu!"

"Yes, _koishii_?"

"Please..."

"What do you want, _koishii_? Tell me."

"You, Koryuu. You, inside me..."

"Shhhh." He kissed her, stroking that one perfect spot that made her arch her back and gasp. "You want a taste of Heaven, little dove?"

Layla's hands slid down his back to his buttocks, kneading them, digging her nails in as she pulled him tighter against her. Sanzo growled deep in his chest. It was pure torture to move slowly, to press in just a little. Layla cried out.

"More!" She worked her hips against him. "Ah! I'm starving! I'm dying!"

Sanzo's blood was pure flame scorching his veins. With every thrust of her hips against his, he wanted to abandon himself to the need to plunge into her again and again. He withdrew a little, then surged back in. How could he distract her from the pain she must surely feel, given how hard he'd have to push to move all the way into her? He touched that tiny pearl and began to rub it, pressing harder, searching for that one particular spot that drove her insane. At the same time he covered her breast with kisses, teasing her nipple with his tongue and sucking it into his mouth. Layla arched up against him. She brought her legs up to lock them around his waist. Another wail burst from her as her nails dug into his back.

"Now! Now now now _now_!

The way she moved beneath him stole his reason and the last of his control. Sanzo's hips flexed, pushing into her. The barrier held. He drew back and pushed again. Layla moved with him, drawing him into a rhythm that left him groaning against her throat. He held her tighter, shifting his weight, thrusting harder--

The thickness inside Layla gave way. Sanzo sank into her, so deep it left him shuddering and gasping from the exquisite pleasure. It was all he'd ever dreamed of, the slick velvet heat, the tightness, ecstasy so intense it bordered on pain...

"Koryuu!" Layla wailed. Tears spilled down her cheeks. "Now I'm yours. _Yours_."

"_Mine_." Sanzo kissed her, branding her lips with his, all of his senses drowning in her beauty and her joy.

When the knock came on the door to Sanzo's room, Sanzo and Layla lay wrapped around each other, cuddled close inside the fresh sheets and blankets of Sanzo's bed. Sanzo kissed Layla's forehead and slipped out of bed, pulling on his jeans and then his robes as he went to answer the door.

One of the older kitchen women stood there. Just behind her a young serving girl waited, carrying the tray that held the cake.

"Sanzo-sama?" the older woman said. "We've brought your cake. Please look and see if it is satisfactory."

Sanzo stepped out and closed the door behind him. He studied the little cake. It was big enough across to occupy a normal dinner plate. White frosting covered the top and sides. On top, in the center, sat a cluster of tiny rosebuds, pink and white and red and yellow. More tiny rose petals in all the same colors decorated the sides.

"It's lovely," Sanzo said. "Better than I had imagined."

The older woman beamed. "I am most happy to hear you say so, Sanzo-sama. I make the cakes here."

"You are a master of your craft."

The woman bowed. "The cake itself is chocolate. I hope that will please you, Sanzo-sama. You did not ask for a particular flavor, so I chose what most people like best."

Sanzo nodded. "Again, your mastery shows itself."

"If I might ask one question, Sanzo-sama?"

"What is it?"

"The master told me this is a special occasion. May I be permitted to ask what that occasion is?"

Normally Sanzo would have cut the woman off with a cold remark, punishing her for trespassing on his privacy. But tonight, just tonight, he was in too good a mood to bother.

"I have been reunited with someone very dear to me," Sanzo said. "I am celebrating the kindness of Heaven that brought us together once again."

The pastry chef's lip quivered. She dabbed at her eyes with her apron. "Tenkai bless you, Sanzo-sama." Her voice broke. "Thank you for blessing me with being part of your celebration."

Sanzo took the cake from the serving girl. "May Tenkai shower blessings on your house, mistress, for bringing me such an excellent cake."

With many bows, the older woman and the serving girl hurried back to the stairs. Moving carefully, Sanzo stepped back inside the room and closed the door behind him. He carried the cake over to the bed and put it on the nightstand, then lit the oil lamp that hung from the ceiling. It cast enough light to show him Layla propped up on one elbow, studying the cake.

"What is this?"

"It's for you." Sanzo pulled off his robes and laid them aside.

"Me?" Layla asked. "Why?"

Sanzo sat down on the bed, careful not to jostle the cake. "Because for the first time in longer than I can remember, I'm happy. I'm happy I met you." He kissed her cheek. "I'm happy to know I've found someone who shares my love of my master." He kissed her other cheek. "I'm happy to share the joy of making love for the first time with you, Layla." Taking her chin in his hand, he kissed her lips, a slow, sweet, lingering caress.

"Oh, Koryuu." She kissed his palm.

"Here." Sanzo broke off a piece of the cake. He held it to Layla's lips and she took a bite.

"Oooh! That's marvelous!"

She sat up, letting the blankets slip from her naked shoulders, and broke off a piece of cake so she could feed it to Sanzo. The taste of chocolate and rose petals filled his mouth. It was indeed a marvelous cake. They ate, laughing, getting frosting all over their hands and some on their faces. Sanzo was careful to keep some of the frosting so he could spread it all over Layla's breasts and indulge in the rare pleasure of licking it all off again.

Later, after they'd made love twice more, Sanzo held Layla while she slept curled up against his side. He'd had another reason for giving Layla a cake, a reason he would never be able to tell her. In his heart, this night marked a new union, a union he never thought he'd experience, with joy in such abundance like he'd never believed he could ever feel.

Author's Note: The steamier version of this chapter is available at 


	18. Chapter 18 Shared Hope

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN Shared Hope

Layla hugged her pillow, staring up at the water stains on the whitewashed ceiling. She lay on her bed in her room, listening to all the little noises that told her the inn and the people inside it were ready to begin a new day. She'd been up for a while already, long enough to bathe and dress and tidy her hair. Today she wore the green dress. It seemed fitting to end the journey wearing the dress in which she began it. It was clean, thanks to Hakkai seeing to it the laundry got done. Sanzo had awakened her just as the sun was lightening the horizon. They'd stayed curled up together under the warm blankets, sharing soft kisses, until Sanzo told her he needed to go out before the others woke up and demanded breakfast. So Layla had slipped away to her own room, where she washed away the last of the cake frosting and all other evidence of Sanzo's passion.

Sanzo. A smile curved Layla's lips. Koryuu. That was his name, the name that she would always remember him by. The name that had burst from her lips again and again as together they shared the taste of heavenly bliss. She'd fought so hard to protect herself and her virtue against the filthy lust of the bandits. If this was her reward, the joy of giving her virginity to Koryuu, then perhaps she could learn to live with the guilt of killing.

Down the hall she heard a door slam, then Goku's voice. The deeper growl of Gojyo's voice answered him. Moments later there came a knock on her own door. Layla opened it to see Hakkai standing there.

"Good morning," he said. "We were wondering if you might know where Sanzo is."

"Sanzo told me he needed to go out before breakfast. I thought he'd be back before the rest of you woke up."

"Hm." Hakkai glanced past her at her traveling bag where it sat on her bed. "All packed?"

"Yes."

"Good. Let me give you a hand with that. We should check and see if Sanzo is downstairs."

Hakkai stepped past her and picked up the bag. Layla followed him toward the stairway, closing the door behind them. A few doors down Goku bounced up and down on one of the beds while Gojyo sat on the other, holding his head in both hands. Their bags were also packed, sitting in the middle of the room.

"Come on, you two," Hakkai said. "We're going to look for Sanzo downstairs."

"Gojyo?" Layla asked. "Are you all right?"

Gojyo raised his head to give her a look of irritation mixed with raw suffering. His crimson eyes were so bloodshot the whites were almost the same color as the irises. "I have a hangover. Make that the mother of all hangovers."

"Stupid kappa!" Goku said. "You never learn, do you?"

Goku bounced past Gojyo on his way to follow Hakkai. Gojyo reached out one long arm, caught Goku by the collar, and slammed him face first into the floor, wincing at the noise. Gojyo stood up to step over him and grab his own traveling bag. He draped his arm around Layla's shoulders, guiding her toward the stairway.

"How are you this morning?" Gojyo asked.

Layla bit her lip. "I'm fine, Gojyo. I'm just fine."

"Really?" He took her by the shoulders and looked into her eyes. "Do you mean it?"

Nodding, Layla smiled, letting him see the true happiness shining inside her. Gojyo sighed, then kissed her forehead.

"Good. That means I don't have to kill that prick after all."

"Gojyo!"

Downstairs they found Sanzo sitting at a table with the innkeeper himself waiting to take their breakfast orders. It was easy to see why. Sanzo sat there in his full regalia, complete with golden crown and ivory silk veil. His reading glasses had slid down to the end of his nose while he studied the newspaper he held.

"Morning, Sanzo!" Goku dropped his bag on the floor and kicked it under a chair, then sat down beside Sanzo.

Hakkai took the chair on Sanzo's other side. "Good morning, Sanzo."

"Greetings, Almighty Sanzo-sama." Gojyo sat across from Sanzo and lit a cigarette. "What's with the fancy dress?"

"Shut up and order," Sanzo snapped. "I want to get going as soon as the shops are open."

Layla hung back, not sure how to interpret what she was seeing. Sanzo looked up from his newspaper.

"Good morning, Layla. Will you be joining us, or do you intend to go eat in the kitchen?"

Layla had no idea what to say. The return of Sanzo's aloof disdain now, after the night they'd shared, left her more confused than ever. As always, Gojyo came to her rescue.

"You really are a total bastard, Sanzo." Gojyo stood up and fetched another chair from a nearby table. "Come sit by me, Layla."

Layla felt a moment's dizziness. The whole situation was so similar to the first time she'd met Sanzo. Gojyo came to her and put his arm around her shoulders, steering her over to her chair. He sat down beside her and shot Sanzo a look of frosty disgust.

"Acting like last night never happened," he muttered. "Simply fucking amazing."

Layla gasped. Sanzo reached into his sleeve, pulled out his paper fan, and delivered three lightning fast whacks across the back of Gojyo's aching head.

"Shut up, cockroach. Don't presume to know what I'm thinking, especially when you're hardly equipped to do any of that yourself."

Over the low rumble of Gojyo's pained cursing, they all gave their breakfast orders. When the food arrived, Layla could only pick at her eggs and toast. Was Gojyo right? Was Sanzo starting to regret what they'd done? Perhaps that was why he'd taken refuge in wearing all of his priestly regalia. Koryuu was gone, Sanzo was back, and it was time to face the hard truth of reality.

When everyone had finished eating, Sanzo stood up.

"Get Jeep loaded while I settle our bill."

Layla watched him walk away, feeling her heart sink.

Jeep pulled up in front of a tidy-looking shop with clean windows and a well-swept front walk. Flowers bloomed in the window boxes. Neat rows of smooth river stones bordered the walkway leading to the shop's front. Such details spoke of an orderly mind that had an appreciation of beauty. Sanzo found that reassuring. Master Henshaw would be a reasonable man with a wife who looked after the appearance of things. The last and most important question would be, did they have kind hearts? Layla was still too fragile to bear life's struggles without some kind of genuine caring and support.

"Hakkai," Sanzo said. "You make the introductions. Give Master Henshaw my greetings."

Hakkai climbed out of the driver's seat and held up both hands to Layla. She stood and bent to lay her hands on his shoulders. Gripping her around the waist, Hakkai lifted her out of Jeep and set her on her feet. Sanzo strode around to the driver's side of Jeep, tugging at his veil and touching his crown to make sure it sat straight atop his head. He shot a glare at Gojyo and Goku, who were already starting to elbow each other and work themselves into another wrangle.

"You two shut up and keep still."

"Hai hai, Almighty Sanzo-sama," Gojyo drawled. "Tenkai forbid we do anything to tarnish the shine on that crown."

"Keep it up, cockroach," Sanzo snapped. "Soon you won't have Layla to hide behind anymore."

Much to Sanzo's satisfaction, that shut the kappa up. Sanzo turned away from Gojyo's stricken look in time to see the unhappiness on Layla's face. The morning's rush had given Sanzo no opportunity to reassure Layla, especially after Gojyo and his big mouth had planted even more anxiety in her mind. There was nothing to be done about it right then. At Sanzo's nod, Hakkai took Layla's hand and pulled it through the crook of his arm, then led her up the walkway to the shop's front door. He rapped lightly on the door, which opened almost immediately. There stood a plain, plump woman in her middle fifties, dressed in dark blue with an apron of saffron yellow embroidered with black and red patterns.

"Madame Henshaw?" Hakkai said.

"Yes?"

"I'm Cho Hakkai. I spoke to your husband yesterday." Hakkai turned to Layla. "This is the lady who will be working for you."

Layla smiled. "How do you do, Madame Henshaw? My name is Layla Trevalle."

"Oh yes!" Madame Henshaw's face lit up with a bright smile. "Do come in, my dear. Such a time you've had! You must be weary from your traveling."

"Please, Madame Henshaw," Layla said. "There is someone who wishes to speak to you on my behalf."

Layla took one step to the side. With a straight line of sight to the golden glory that was Genjo Sanzo, Madame Henshaw gasped, one hand flying to her mouth.

"Sanzo-sama..." Madame Henshaw called back over her shoulder. "Danny! Go fetch your master! And bring all the others in the workshop!"

Madame Henshaw bustled out, coming down the walkway to bow before Sanzo. Moments later a husky man in rolled shirtsleeves and faded green trousers came rushing out the door. Bits of thread and scraps of fabric clung to his hands and clothing. He was a burly bear of a man, going bald on top but with a luxuriant beard to compensate. More young men and women crowded out of the shop behind Master Henshaw. Everyone stared at Sanzo. A few turned curious glances on Layla, studying her before looking back at Sanzo again.

"Sanzo-sama." Master Henshaw bowed. "Forgive us for this hasty welcome. We had no idea you'd be coming today."

Sanzo gave him a nod that looked slow and gracious less from any pretense on Sanzo's part than a pure effort to keep the damn crown from slipping.

"Do come in, Sanzo-sama." Master Henshaw swept one beefy arm toward the open doorway. "Master Cho said nothing about the young lady bringing someone of such importance with her."

"You're most kind, Master Henshaw," Sanzo said. "I'm sorry to disturb you while you're working."

"Not at all, Sanzo-sama! This is a great honor!"

"If you please, Sanzo-sama," said Madame Henshaw, "come inside. I would be more than happy to offer you tea."

Seeing Goku's face light up, Sanzo raised one hand. "Thank you, Madame Henshaw. We've already had breakfast."

Sanzo suffered himself to be led by Master Henshaw through the front of the building where customers were shown bolts of cloth or garments already made. Then they toured the workroom, with its six sewing machines and four looms and other endless devices for the production of cloth and finished clothing. Sanzo spied a bolt of silk that was almost a perfect match for his own worn, travel-stained robes.

"Sanzo-sama," Master Henshaw said, moving around behind Sanzo. "I wonder if I might ask how you and Layla know each other?"

Sanzo looked up from stroking the silk. "We're family."

"Indeed? And the gentlemen with you?"

"My servants. Do you have children, Master Henshaw?"

"Three boys and two fine girls, Sanzo-sama."

"Then you know how it is to worry about family, to want to see them settled in a happy place, where they can work hard and live well."

"I certainly hope we can offer the young lady all of that."

"You're very kind, Master Henshaw," Layla said. "To take in a stranger this way..."

"When Master Cho told us about all the awful things you've lived through, Willa and I just knew we had to do something to help. We've got the room and we could use the help, so it looks like we were made for each other!"

Layla smiled. Sanzo studied her, sensing the real warmth flowing between her and Master Henshaw. He'd already sized up Madame Henshaw as the ideal mother hen. They'd take good care of Layla. Satisfied, Sanzo looked around the workroom at the assembled staff who were all staring at him.

"Master Henshaw," he said, "With your permission, I would like to bless your home and workplace. Tenkai knows it's little enough to thank you for giving Layla a new home."

Master Henshaw bowed deeply. "One moment, please, Sanzo-sama, while I fetch my wife. She'll want to be here."

In the moment they were alone together, even while they were surrounded by a good two dozen workers, Layla spoke.

"Thank you, Sanzo-sama. I know you're really going all out to make a good impression."

Sanzo took her hand and squeezed it. "That's why I left the traveling circus out front."

The Henshaws returned. Sanzo closed his eyes, put his hands together, and began to chant one of the lesser sutras his master had taught him. It was a blessing, sealing in the goodness and keeping out anything evil or tainted. When he was done, he opened his eyes to see tears running down Madame Henshaw's cheeks. On Layla's face there was a look of quiet joy.

"Please, Sanzo-sama." Madame Henshaw sniffed and dabbed at her eyes with her apron. "Please, come out into the garden and let me offer you some tea. The peaches are ripe now, and I've just baked some scones."

Sanzo hesitated. He needed a moment alone with Layla, then he wanted to get on the road, to be done with this and move on. And yet, every last second with Layla was precious to him. Master Henshaw took a step forward and knocked a tray of thread off a worktable. The spools bounced around Sanzo's feet.

"Oh drat! My apologies, Sanzo-sama."

Master Henshaw knelt there gathering up the spools in his big hands. Layla hurried to help him, scooping up the spools and chasing down the ones that had rolled farther away.

"Willa, why don't you go ahead and take Sanzo-sama and Layla out to the garden. I've got one little thing to see to, then I'll join you."

"If you'll follow me, Sanzo-sama?"

Madame Henshaw led Sanzo and Layla out through the back of the workshop into a garden bright with flowers, fruit trees, and a fountain where the water flashed and sparkled in the sunlight. Hakkai, Gojyo, and Goku were already out there. Hakkai sat with his back straight, sipping his tea with his usual tidy manners. Gojyo lounged in his seat, one long leg hooked over the arm while he munched on a scone. Goku sat on the grass with his lap full of peaches, his cheeks bulging and juice dripping down his chin. Sanzo's hand automatically plunged into his sleeve, going for his paper fan. Layla took that arm in what was probably a sincere gesture of affection that also kept him from thrashing the stupid monkey.

Madame Henshaw bustled around getting Sanzo seated in just the right chair with the just right amount of shade, not too close to the fountain. Then came the endless fussing over his tea and his scone and any other detail that came to Madame Henshaw's mind. Sanzo shot Layla a look that said she'd damn well better be appreciating the way this was straining his patience. Layla smiled and sipped her tea, watching Goku's antics and Gojyo's flirting with one of the girls who kept bringing out more tea and more pastries. Hakkai kept the conversational ball rolling so Sanzo could preserve his appearance of serene wisdom, which was an excellent cover for his desperate need to shoot something.

Madame Henshaw kept finding reasons for Sanzo and the others to stay until Sanzo started to think they were being delayed for reasons other than the sheer novelty of having a Sanzo priest pay them a visit.

"Your hospitality is truly boundless, Madame Henshaw," he said. "But I'm afraid we have an appointment elsewhere. We need to be on our way."

"One moment, please, Sanzo-sama." Madame Henshaw bowed. "Let me fetch my husband so we can give you a proper farewell."

She hurried off into the workshop. Only then did Sanzo realize Master Henshaw had not in fact joined them as he'd said he would. The business was thriving, so he no doubt had plenty of work-related matters that needed his attention.

The Henshaws came hurrying out of the workshop together. Master Henshaw carried a large rectangular package under one arm. Apprentices came rushing out of the workshop to gather behind Master Henshaw. Their faces were all alight with anticipation.

"Sanzo-sama," Master Henshaw said. "We are so very grateful for your kindness in coming here today. We thank you for the blessing, and we thank you for Layla, who will be a constant reminder of your holy watchfulness."

Sanzo heard the meaning in Master Henshaw's words. Master Henshaw perceived a great deal more than he let on. Sanzo was pleased to know his main purpose in showing himself to be Layla's sponsor had been understood. The big man sank to his knees and held out the box.

"Please, Sanzo-sama, accept this with our most respectful wishes for your pleasure and comfort."

Sanzo took the lid off the box. Inside it lay a new set of robes, sewn from the silk he'd admired earlier. Sanzo lifted the robes out of the box. He'd have to try them on to be sure, but they looked to be an excellent fit. Now he understood why Master Henshaw had kept moving around him, and all that business of knocking the spools over. It had all been a way for Master Henshaw to estimate Sanzo's measurements.

"Is there somewhere I can change into this?"

"Follow me, Sanzo-sama." One of the apprentices led him back into the workshop, to a door that led to a small parlor and washroom.

Minutes later Sanzo stepped out into the garden's sunshine, resplendent in pure, clean silk. He looked radiant, glorious, enough to make Layla's heart thunder inside her. The apprentices burst into applause. Sanzo walked through the crowd to the Henshaws, who were both beaming.

"Thank you," Sanzo said. "I will treasure these robes as confirmation of the kindness and generosity of the people in whose care I must leave Layla."

Layla took that as her cue to step forward. "Master Henshaw, Madame Henshaw, could you please excuse me for just a few minutes, so I can say goodbye?"

"Of course, dear." Madame Henshaw started shooing the apprentices back inside. Soon the garden was empty but for Layla and her four heroes.

She went to Goku first, where he still sat happily munching peaches. She crouched down to ruffle his hair.

"Be good for Sanzo, OK? Don't make him too crazy."

For a moment those big golden eyes focused on her. "I'll miss you, Layla. It was nice having you around."

"Thanks, Goku. I'll miss you too."

Layla walked over to Hakkai where he stood admiring the fountain.

"Thanks for finding me such a good place."

Hakkai smiled a real smile. "I had to. You think Sanzo would have let me get away with leaving you anywhere that wasn't perfect?"

Layla laughed. "You'd have been in for some nasty paper cuts, that's for sure."

She took Hakkai's hands and leaned up to kiss his cheek. "Thank you, Hakkai. Gojyo won me, but you're the one who made sure I had a bath and new clothes and all those things. You really did understand what I'd been through, and what I needed."

"Take care, Layla. We'll miss you."

Layla took a deep breath, then walked over to Gojyo where he stood lounging against the trunk of a tree.

"Hey," he said. "They look like good people."

"They do." Layla moved closer to Gojyo, aware of Sanzo's burning amethyst gaze. "There's something I want to say to you. Something important."

Gojyo straightened up. "OK."

"You've been with enough women to know that there are different kinds of love. Right?"

"Right."

"So when I tell you I love you, can you understand that I mean it?"

Gojyo looked at her for a long moment, then looked away. "Is this some kind of weird variation on 'Let's just be friends'?"

"No. This is 'I love you, Gojyo, and I always will.'" Layla put her hand in her skirt pocket and pulled out one of her hair ties with the yellow wooden flowers. She held it out to Gojyo on the palm of her hand. "I want you to keep this so you'll remember the day you saved not just my life but my sanity and my dignity and my hope and my existence as a human being."

Her breath hitched, and her eyes clouded with tears.

"I know how much it hurts you, that I can't let you love me the way you want to. I don't need that to love you the way I do." She reached up to touch the scars on his face. "I don't need anything from you, Gojyo. You're you, and that's fine. That's what I love."

Gojyo stared down at her. He closed those beautiful crimson eyes, making the gathering tears spill down his cheeks. He took the hair tie and raked his long red hair back from his face, tying it into its usual sloppy ponytail. Then those long arms swept Layla into a rib-creaking hug.

"I love you too, honey. You stay safe, OK?"

Layla held onto Gojyo just as tightly as he held her. "Sanzo told me why you're heading west. Not all of it, but I know it's really serious. You come back to me, understand? You come back and let me love you my way."

"Sanzo won't like that."

"When have you ever let that stop you?"

Gojyo burst out laughing, so hard his knees gave and he collapsed on the grass, dragging Layla down with him. That was enough to bring Sanzo over, paper fan in hand, ready to lay into Gojyo. And, one last time, Layla got in the way. She scrambled up onto her knees and caught Sanzo's wrist.

"Please, Sanzo, we were just laughing."

Gojyo stood up and lifted Layla up onto her feet.

"Yeah, Sanzo-sama. I didn't grope your sweetie."

Sanzo snatched the fan with his free hand and landed a good whack on Gojyo's ear before Layla could drag him out of range.

"Put the fan away, Sanzo-sama, unless you're planning to beat me too."

"I ought to." Sanzo stuffed the fan back into his sleeve. "Don't you know better by now than to get within arm's reach of that stupid kappa?"

She wrapped her arms around Sanzo's waist and settled her head beneath his chin. "Hold me, Koryuu. One last time."

The use of his real name dispelled Sanzo's temper and brought his arms around her. A moment's hush fell between them. Only the sound of the water playing in the fountain broke the stillness.

"Come with me." Sanzo took Layla by the hand and led her along the pathway made of tiled stepping stones until they were another two rows of fruit trees deeper into the garden, still close enough to hear the others but safely out of sight.

Sanzo wrapped his arms around Layla, holding her tight while he rested his cheek against her hair. Her relief so intense it made her shake, Layla breathed in the scents of sandalwood, cigarette smoke, gunpowder and oil and the faint perfume of white flowers.

"Promise me something," Sanzo said. "I know how badly you want to forget what's happened to you, but it's vitally important that you remember."

"Please, Sanzo, I can't--"

"Listen to me! You must never forget how strong you can be when the moment calls for it. You may need that strength, to save yourself and others." Sanzo held Layla at arm's length and stared into her eyes. "There is no shame in killing when you kill to protect the weak and innocent."

"Yes, Sanzo-sama. I promise."

"Good." He kissed her forehead, then slipped one hand into his sleeve. "I have something for you." He pulled out a small wooden box carved all over with leaves, flowers, and tiny birds. Taking Layla's hand in his, he set the box on her palm.

Layla studied the box, spotting the hinges on one side. She opened the lid. There, nestled on a square of white silk, was a ring. Set in the gold band were five jewels. An amethyst and an aquamarine sat side by side, two small faceted ovals. On each side of the two larger jewels sat a single tiny diamond. Between the amethyst and the aquamarine sat a third diamond, larger than the other two, glittering with rainbow fire.

"Sanzo!" Layla stared at the ring, eyes wide with shock.

"Do you like it?"

"It—it's us! You and me, together..."

"Exactly." Sanzo took the ring out of the box and slipped it onto the ring finger of Layla's right hand. "Will you wait for me?"

She looked up at him, confused. Then understanding dawned. "You can't mean -- "

"That's exactly what I mean."

Sanzo brought her hand to his lips. When he spoke, his voice, always so harsh and gruff, softened into gentleness itself, bringing to Layla's mind the voice of Koumyou Sanzo.

"Once I've done what I have to do, I'll be coming back this way. Will you wait for me?"

"Forever." Layla wrapped her arms around Sanzo's waist, holding him tight. "I'd rather be alone than have any man but you."

Sanzo's arms closed around her in a fierce embrace. He buried his face in her long hair, his lips tracing the curve of her ear. When he spoke, she almost didn't hear it over the pounding of her heart.

"I love you."

"Koryuu." Layla fought to steady her voice. "I love _you_. More than anything."

"I will come back to you, Layla." Sanzo rubbed his cheek against her hair. "One way or another, you will see me again. That's the promise I make to you."

The jeep had been on the road about half an hour. Nobody had been saying much out of respect for Sanzo's loss. Of course it was Goku who broke the silence.

"Hey, Sanzo?"

"What?"

"If you weren't a monk, would you marry Layla?"

Sanzo contemplated the glowing end of his cigarette. "Yes, Goku. I believe I would."

"Will wonders never cease?" drawled Gojyo.

"Shut up, kappa. You're just jealous because Layla likes Sanzo more than she likes you."

"Oh, so now you're an expert on how women think, you stupid monkey?"

"Layla is way too classy for the likes of you, you pervert!"

"Is that so? C'mere, monkey! I'm gonna kick your ass!"

The sunlight glittered off the barrel of Sanzo's pistol. He held it aimed at the sky and thumbed off the safety. Goku and Gojyo shut up so fast Sanzo heard their teeth clack together.

"If you can keep your mouths shut for the next two hours, we'll eat somewhere decent tonight. If you can stay quiet all the way through dinner, I might buy you a bath. If nobody earns a whack on the head until morning, well then, who knows how good a mood I might be in?"

In the rear view mirror, he watched Goku and Gojyo stare at each other, then shrug. They expected him to be depressed over "losing" Layla. Fine. Let them think that.

"Um, Sanzo? May I ask a question, please?"

Only Goku's extreme courtesy won him a nod.

"Do you think I might ever find a lady as nice as Layla?"

"Sorry, Goku." Sanzo shook his head. "There's only one Layla."

And she's mine.

END

Owari


End file.
